Work on repairing sewage pipe paused after protests

A water company says it has paused work to repair and unblock a sewage pipe on a beach so it can consult with the local community following protests.

The Combined Sewage Overflow pipe (CSO) on Silver Sands Beach at Bembridge Point on the Isle of Wight was installed in the 1930s but has not been in operation since 2015.

Southern Water says the pipe, which will discharge on the beach, will work as a release valve during heavy rain to protect local homes from flooding. It says it still intends to restart the repairs at a date yet to be announced.

But campaigners have raised fears that sewage will be discharged on a beach popular with families, children, swimmers and sailing clubs.

One protester told the BBC: "I've been swimming here for the last 40 years and it's the most wonderful spot, and clean to swim, and I'm just absolutely devastated."

Another added: "This is not an either/or. We don't want homes flooded, we don't want the beach flooded either."

Bembridge is in a Marine Conservation Zone, and its seagrass meadows, seaweed, and seahorses are among the features protected.

Southern Water has pledged to reduce CSOs in its Clean Rivers and Seas Plan but claims the pipe on Bembridge beach, which will be extended by 22m (72ft), is needed.

Joe Robertson, MP for Isle of Wight East, raised the "urgent issue" with a question in the House of Commons on Tuesday, and has called on the government to stop it happening.

Later, in a letter to the Minister for Water and Flooding, he wrote: "For anyone living in the real world this is not a case of re-establishing existing infrastructure but opening up a new location to dump sewage in the worst possible place for public health."

George Taylor, director of wastewater operations at Southern Water, said it was a "final resort" following steps to reduce the amount of rainwater in the network.

But he also said the work had been put on hold.

"We recognise the strength of feeling and recognise the need to consult more widely with the local people [and] talk through why we're doing the work, and the impact that that's likely to have," he said.

"We don't have a date when we're restarting, but we definitely will be restarting, but we want to make sure we do that consultation first."