Leader of the Council meets with Southern Water
A statement from the Leader of the Council following a meeting with the Chief Customer Officer and Director of Quality and Environment at Southern Water.
Following the meeting, Cllr Gunner said: "Wherever I go in the district right now, people are angry. Today I met with Southern Water to tell them the real concerns and frustrations that residents have with the storm overflows.
“I challenged them on several areas that are causing concerns for residents, one being their historic responses to planning applications and accompanying infrastructure. I'm pleased they acknowledged this is an issue, and that they recognised that residents and businesses are concerned. They have offered to meet with councillors to discuss these challenges, and we are going to work together on how we can reduce the pressures on the system so that storm overflows are only ever a last resort.
“They also made a commitment to lay out clearly, what their current plans are for investing in our network. They made it clear that with the South Downs National Park, Pagham Harbour, Climping Beach and other environmentally special areas, we would be a higher priority for 'significant investment'.
“I'm grateful that Southern Water took the time to meet with me and listen first-hand some of the anger and concern of residents. This is the start of an ongoing conversation and I want to reassure the people in Arun that we are on the case and on your side. We are going to work with Southern Water to do everything we can to ensure that these storm overflows become less and less of an issue. It won't happen overnight, but over time, with the aim of decreasing the use storm overflows in the district helping Arun will become an even better to live, to work and to visit.”