Businesses and residents in a Devon town are to launch what is set to become the largest group legal action against a water company seen in the UK, i can reveal.

[South West Water are reported as saying businesses were not entitled to compensation under Ofwat’s Guaranteed Standards Scheme. and advised businesses to check their burst pipe insurance.]

David Parsley inews.co.uk

Businesses and residents in a Devon town are to launch what is set to become the largest group legal action against a water company seen in the UK, i can reveal.

Seaside resort Exmouth intends to take on South West Water in the courts after the town’s popular beach was dogged by “no swim” warnings following repeated raw sewage spills during the summer.

Dozens of the town’s independent business have joined forces to appoint a law firm to lead the action, which will claim the beach closures resulted in a significant fall in sales during the crucial summer holiday trading period.

The action will include independent restaurants, pubs, cafes, boat trip firms, sailing groups, ice cream parlours and gift shops.

Residents and summer visitors may also be included in the action after the beach’s blue flag was replaced by red-flag warnings on several occasions during the school holidays.

Nicky Nicholls, of beachside retail and leisure hub Sideshore, is co-ordinating between law firm Leigh Day and local business.

She said: “The reputational damage that has been done to Exmouth over this summer is unacceptable.

“Businesses and residents alike are angry. We intend to fight back, to get the system fixed and to get Exmouth back its beautiful bathing waters.”

Maisie Dawson, who owns The Beach pub by the town’s marina, said: “It’s definitely had an impact on the business.

“The worry is what impact is this going to have on the town in the future. People thinking of where they’ll go on holiday next year may well think they’re not coming to Exmouth because it’s got raw sewage all over the beach.”

Eric Bridge, who runs the Edge watersports and retail store on the beach, said: “When the red flags were out over the bank holiday weekend the beach was virtually empty.

“It was quite odd to see it so quiet, and it clearly has an impact on local businesses when the tourists stayed away.”

The no-swim warnings were issued by the Environment Agency after a South West Water sewage pipe burst on the 14 August.

While the water company claimed the issue had been solved after installing a temporary overland pipe, no-swim notices were imposed on two further occasions during August, including over the key bank holiday trading weekend.

South West Water said businesses were not entitled to compensation under Ofwat’s Guaranteed Standards Scheme.

Instead, the company has advised businesses to check if their business insurance policy may cover the hit to revenues due to the burst pipe.

The town has been dogged by spills since last December, when another pipe burst led to weeks of disruption in the town.

As i revealed earlier this year, 240 tankers a day drove through Exmouth carrying up to 18,000 litres of sewage to Maer Road sewage pumping station, just 200 metres from the beach, following a series of major pipe bursts.

The local council passed a vote of no confidence in South West Water in February.

Councillor Paul Arnott, leader of East Devon District Council, said the situation in and around Exmouth was a “civil emergency” and it was “just a matter of time before someone becomes seriously ill due to South West Water’s failure to control and fix its own infrastructure”.

Mr Arnott added: “The August Bank holiday weekend caused terrible losses for local businesses, and because of the national media coverage risks permanent damage to Exmouth and other parts of our district.”

South West Water is already facing legal action from resident Jo Bateman, who is claiming the company has prevented her from taking her daily swims following multiple spills over the past year.

South West Water is already facing legal action from resident Jo Bateman, who is claiming the company has prevented her from taking her daily swims following multiple spills over the past year.

As part of her campaign, Ms Bateman will be handing a 50,000-strong petition to Downing Street on Tuesday, calling for more government action on sewage spills.

“I will be handing in a petition to No 10 urging the Government to stop letting water companies off the hook,” said Ms Bateman.

“We demand: stricter penalties and fines for all water company offences, no more bonuses for water company executives, the prioritisation of urgent action for a cleaner and safer swimming environment for everyone – so we can all enjoy our right to swim.”

A spokeswoman for South West Water added: “We are serious about tackling storm overflows and change of this scale takes time, ambition, and increased investment.

“We are investing around £38m in the Exmouth area up to 2030 which includes upgrades to our pumping stations and treatment works to significantly reduce the number of spills and further protect the environment.”