South West Water said Sidmouth Folk Festival would not be affected by its £12m project to build a new storm storage tank at The Ham to reduce the impact of the town’s sewage system.
The water company presented its plans to Sidmouth Town Council and said the impact for the festival, which takes place between 31 July and 7 August, would be kept to a minimum.
Councillor Hilary Nelson, the chair of Sidmouth Town Council, said she was “grateful” to hear the work would not disrupt the event.
The Ham open space will be closed for recreational use from December until the works are completed.
Nelson added councillors were “keen to ensure that disruption to local residents was kept to a minimum and that the area would be fully restored following completion of the works, and we were grateful for South West Water’s reassurances on all these points”.
She added: “Through the Sidmouth Folk Festival we’ve been championing folk music, dance, and song by the sea since 1995, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to our beautiful seaside town.
“We’re thrilled that next year’s event can continue to build on its many years of success in creating an inclusive music community that celebrates tradition in all its many forms.”
Charlie Ford, project manager at South West Water, said: “It was great to have the opportunity to meet with Sidmouth Town Council earlier this week to discuss our plans for the area and to provide reassurance that we will not cause any impact on the Sidmouth Folk Festival.”
The contest was prompted by the decision of independent member Del Haggerty deciding to resign from East Devon District Council, as well as his from his seat on Seaton Town Council.
[Note from Owl: Del Haggerty was originally a Conservative councillor but changed to become Independent, latterly joining the governing Democratic Alliance group in EDDC.]
Stephen Hunt, a Liberal Democrat candidate, secured the seat in the by-election this week (Thursday 11 December) with 789 votes [41.3%], comfortably ahead of second-placed Simon Day, who gained 565 votes for Reform UK [29.6%].
That performance pushed the Conservatives into third place, with Karen Boyes securing 400 votes (20.9%), ahead of fourth-placed Paul K Johns, an independent candidate.
In written campaign material, Cllr Hunt, a retired managing director of a welding company, said he had more recently been a carer for his family, who have lived in the town for decades.
“I am standing to be a local councillor to give something back to the community he is proud to call home,” he wrote on his campaign material.
He said he had been a district councillor previously, and so “brings experience” to the role, including having worked to protect the environment and local wildlife, and supporting efforts to deliver affordable homes with the infrastructure needed for local people.
Cllr Hunt added that he would use his voice on the council to “campaign against sewage spills, helping protect tourism, hospitality businesses, and Seaton’s coastline”.
Around a third of eligible voters turned out for the by-election, meaning 1,919 voted for their preferred candidate out of the 6,042 residents who could have voted.
The win for the Lib Dems comes just a week after they held the Exmouth Halsdon ward, with their candidate Cllr Fran McElhone becoming a member of the district council.
It will mean the party has 21 members on East Devon District Council, one less than the council’s array of independent members.
But the council is run by a democratic alliance including Lib Dems, some independents, and Green Party members.
Honiton and Sidmouth MP Richard Foord has asked the Environment Agency (EA) to review South West Water’s performance on the River Otter, warning of high phosphate levels, repeated permit breaches and delays to treatment upgrades.
In a letter to area director Mark Rice following a joint meeting on October 20, he sought clarification on phosphate sources, the condition of the river, and the decision to remove a planned Honiton sewage treatment works (STW) upgrade from the 2025-2030 investment programme.
Foord’s office told this newspaper that SWW confirmed in October that “no phosphate-reduction schemes are currently planned before 2030”, despite earlier public statements about lowering phosphate in treated discharges.
The MP has written again to SWW chief executive Susan Davy asking for a detailed plan and calling for Honiton STW’s upgrade to be completed by 2030.
ORCA data gathered from bi-weekly water tests across 12 sites indicated phosphate concentrations double below the Honiton STW, adding that they remained above safe limits downstream.
Meanwhile, Devon Wildlife Trust and Westcountry Rivers Trust studies show the River Otter has at least twice the phosphate levels of other South West rivers.
The EA attributes 70 per cent of the phosphate load in the Middle and Lower Otter to SWW, while Honiton STW has breached its phosphate permit in three of the past six months.
East Devon District Council’s November Water Cycle Study reportedly found that the Honiton STW was exceeding its dry-weather treatment capacity by about 40 per cent, noting that it requires a 73 per cent increase to support planned housing growth.
Councillors have warned that development may have to be delayed unless capacity and phosphate removal improve.
In response, SWW said it is planning a phosphate-reduction scheme at Feniton before 2030 and is delivering “targeted interventions” as part of a £125 million programme in Honiton and Sidmouth.
In a statement, the company said: “Where our assets are not performing as they should, or where they are causing environmental harm, we will act.”
Mayors are a key pillar in the government’s bid to overhaul how local government operates, with their purpose to oversee major projects, including transport, housing and economic development.
Formally named strategic mayoral authorities, these bodies would sit above the councils in their area, and help coordinate projects that benefit residents across the county.
With Cornwall vocalising its opposition to creating a strategic mayoral authority with its neighbour, politicians in Devon are now attempting to ignite their own bid.
The route to do this looks likely to be through the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority (DTCCA).
This entity was only formally created in February, and, somewhat ironically, pursued a non-mayoral route. It consists of Devon County Council and Torbay Council as the lead members, with Devon’s eight districts having representation through two more seats.
When the government’s reorganisation of councils was announced at the end of 2024, some thought the DTCCA could become defunct, but now efforts are being made to ensure it is the conduit through which Devon secures a mayor.
While mayors are viewed as integral to the government’s bid to reshape how local democracy works, some areas where the council reorganisation plans have been accepted, such as Surrey, have not subsequently been told when they will be able to get a directly elected mayor.
“There is a possible route to a mayor through the DTCCA,” said Councillor Paul Arnott, the deputy leader of Devon County Council who is a member of the DTCCA.
“If the CCA includes Plymouth then we can apply to go ahead of all the other places struggling to get a mayor, like Somerset, Dorset, and Surrey.”
Plymouth opted not to join the DTCCA when it was created, but the body repeatedly said the door would be left open for Plymouth to join at a later date. If the city reiterated its opposition to joining, then the DTCCA would have to investigate whether it could apply for a mayoralty to cover its existing footprint, it’s understood.
Furthermore, if Cornwall receives confirmation it can have its own mayor, then Cllr Arnott said this would add ballast to Devon’s bid for one too.
“Getting a mayor is the real game in town now,” he added.
A spokesperson for the DTCCA said both decisions to change from a non-mayoral entity to a mayoral one and to expand, would ultimately rest with the Secretary of State.
“Any potential expansion of the DTCCA and the introduction of a directly elected mayor are distinct decisions,” the spokesperson said.
“Under current legislation, the DTCCA may submit a proposal to the Secretary of State for either or both changes.
“Any proposal must set out how any decision improves the economic, social, and environmental well-being of some or all of the people that live or work in the area, as well as demonstrating that the proposals have broad public and political support.
“For any expansion, consent is required from the council of the affected local government area, in addition to approval by the DTCCA board.”
The spokesperson added that all of Devon’s councils had “previously written to government to express their strong preference for progressing with mayoral devolution at the earliest opportunity in order to unlock broader powers and funding for the area”.
“We remain committed to exploring every available option to expedite this and are actively engaging with government to understand and meet any specific requirements necessary to move forward including any public consultation obligations,” the spokesperson added.
A spokesperson for Plymouth City Council said: “The city council recently endorsed our local government reorganisation proposal, which set out how reorganisation would enable future devolution [mayoral] opportunities.
“However, any formal decisions on devolution agreements, including participation in a Mayoral Strategic Authority, will be subject to future decisions once those proposals are developed in detail.”
A row of tankers has been seen at an East Devon beach as maintenance on the sewer system takes place.
Residents in Budleigh Salterton spotted numerous tankers in the town’s Lime Kiln car park where South West Water has a pumping station.
In one video taken by resident Peter Williams, who has campaigned on sewage issues in Budleigh Salterton on behalf of the Otter Valley Association, around a dozen tankers can be seen.
In a post on Facebook, Mr Williams said the tankers are taking their cargo to the Maer Lane sewage treatment works in Exmouth, but raised concerns about this.
“That might sound like a good thing, but Maer Lane has been over capacity for the past two days, so it is dumping all the excess sewage into the sea, a few hundred metres off Straight Point firing range,” he said.
“And the prevailing current from Straight Point is Budleigh.”
He added that he felt South West Water’s lack of timely maintenance and upgrades at Budleigh has caused a “series of knock-on actions that just end up as one slow-motion car crash”.
Another resident, John Hamill, said the tankers were being used because the system “cannot cope”.
“Roll on another 700 houses,” he added, referencing the number of properties that could be built on one plot identified in East Devon’s emerging local plan on the outskirts of Exmouth and Budleigh.
South West Water’s WaterFit Live website showed most of Exmouth’s storm overflows activated at the time of publishing, while only one of Budleigh Salterton’s had been active in the prior 24 hours.
“Our teams are working on essential maintenance at our Lime Kilns pumping station – at times, we use tankers to control flows which helps us to protect the environment,” a spokesperson for South West Water said.
“We would like to thank residents for their patience while we complete this essential work.”
The appearance of the tankers comes less than two weeks after it emerged that Budleigh Salterton beach was at risk of losing its coveted Blue Flag Award.
The award is based on a range of criteria, but a crucial one relates to the requirement for water quality to be ‘excellent’.
But the latest Environment Agency data shows Budleigh’s water quality has fallen to ‘good’.
At the time, South West Water said there had been 100 fewer sewer spills in 2025 than last year. Plus, while sewage spills can be a contributor to poorer water quality, other factors can also be to blame, including agricultural run-off, animal effluence, or pollution from urban sources.
SWW’s website states it has invested around £3.6 million to reduce the number of spills from its storm overflows in the town, with Meadow Road storm overflow improved in March 2022, and “major work” to clean the 7.7 kilometre long rising main from Lime Kilns pumping station to Maer Lane sewage treatment works had been completed in November 2023.
It noted it was relining sewers and removing land drains to reduce the volume of water in the network, which should help reduce storm overflows. This work started in July 2024.
The Lime Kiln storm overflow had 212 spills in 2024, well above the 118 in 2023 and the 31 in 2022.
Ironic that a Labour Council should now be following in the footsteps of the 9th Earl of Devon, using access and control of the tidal reaches of the river Exe to Exeter to exert their power and influence. Very feudal. – Owl
Plans for a council to take over the running of a major estuary in Devon are facing opposition from water users concerned at the possibility of new charges being imposed.
Exeter City Council wants to use a harbour revision order (HRO) to take charge of the Exe estuary, which runs from Exeter Quay down to the coast at Dawlish and Exmouth.
The council said the by-laws which currently governed the area were not fit for purpose and it wanted to make the whole of the estuary area as “safe and sustainable” as possible.
However, sailing clubs, a stand-up paddleboard group and the local MP said they were concerned about what the council might do with new powers, adding more information was needed.
There are no harbour charges for using the Exe estuary and the Exeter canal for recreational purposes at the moment, with the council charging mooring fees for visiting yachts and for some boat storage.
Ian Garcia is the commodore at Topsham Sailing Club which has been running for 140 years.
He said the main concern for him and his members was the lack of any business plan, which is not required for the HRO.
He said: “That has meant our members don’t really understand what the true impact will be from the fines or the licences or the charges that are required.
“There could be significant charges – this river is unique in that we have no commercial traffic and we’ve got a canal that costs a lot in maintenance to keep going.”
The Labour-run council carried out a consultation on the HRO, which closed on 23 November, but critics said there had been a shortage of comprehensible information about what changes would be made.
David Reed is the Conservative MP for Exmouth and Exeter East, which covers the area on the eastern side of the estuary.
He said: “The biggest problem for me and my constituents is that this has been done behind closed doors.”
Reed said there were “safety concerns” and there was a “legitimate debate to have”, but the consultation process had been carried out “in the shadows”.
He said: “There could be charging powers. This administration may not do it, but we have regular election cycles and the next administration might want to monetize the estuary to bring more money into their council coffers.”
[Comment by Owl: Beware of what you wish for! Any new “Exeter” unitary council incorporating parts of neighbouring districts would require a re-evaluation of the public franchise. The government wants to eliminate the tier of local government occupied by district councils, and in Exeter, its equivalent is the city council. The aim is to reduce councillors and bureaucracy. In any new structure, Exeter City, would, therefore, have proportionately fewer councillors. To avoid a referral to the electoral boundary commission the new franchise is likely to be based on the existing County Council “Divisions”. Labour has NO councillors within this tier of government and is almost certain to lose control of the city in its proposed takeover of neighbouring districts. See County electoral map below.]
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The city council said it could not comment on the concerns being raised as the responses from the consultation were currently being looked at by the Marine Management Organisation which would be deciding on whether or not to grant the HRO.
Derek Johnson set up the Exmouth SUP and Paddle group to bring together stand-up paddleboard users and kayakers all around the Exmouth area, including the Exe estuary.
He said the estuary was traditionally used as a training ground for novice paddleboarders and he feared the possible imposition of any charges could make beginners take on more challenging areas of water.
The city council said there were “no plans currently to levy a fee to kayakers or paddle-boarders” but Mr Johnson says it was the use of the word “currently” that he found troubling.
He said: “I think it’s just a money grab. We just want free use of our water.”
Lib Dem Fran McElhone, who has won the Exmouth Halsdon by-election to secure a seat on East Devon District Council (Image courtesy: Fran McElhone)
Exmouth’s Liberal Democrats have held onto a district council seat for the town’s Halsdon ward in a by-election prompted by the death of a former councillor.
Fran McElhone secured 551 votes in the by-election held on Thursday (4 December), securing the journalist and photographer a seat on East Devon District Council.
The Exmouth Halsdon seat became vacant after the death of Andrew Toye, a long-serving member of both the district council and Exmouth Town Council.
Cllr McElhone’s win means the Lib Dems remain the biggest political party on the district council, albeit there are more independent members.
The district council is led by the Democratic Alliance Group, which is made up of Lib Dems, some of its independent members, and Green Party members.
Writing on her LinkedIn profile, Cllr McElhone said it had been an “amazing team effort” to hold the seat and “continue the legacy of the late Andrew Toye”.
Outlining why she stood for the role, she said: “Because I’m motivated by social justice, want to hold authority to account, want to make sure the authority makes the fairest decisions for the people, and I want to make sure vulnerable and marginalised people are represented and protected.
“Years of covering virtually every council meeting and scrutinising over-complicated council documents stands me in good stead to now be on the council.”
East Devon has no Reform UK district councillors, but Anthony Quinn secured the second–largest number of votes in the poll with 438 – ahead of Conservative candidate Paula Burtoft, who bagged 393 votes.
Green Party candidate Anthony Woodward came fourth with 153 votes.
Turnout was just 25 per cent of the more than 6,000-strong electorate, with 1,539 ballot papers issued.
The Exmouth Halsdon seat was also being contested for Exmouth Town Council, with Lib Dem member Suzanne Isaacs winning with 566 votes.
The running order mimicked the district by-election, with Reform’s Mr Quinn securing second place with 421 votes and the Conservatives’ Ms Burtoft placing third with 392 votes. Independent candidate Louise Doliczny came fourth with 155 votes.
Former Cllr Toye came from a “strong Liberal Democrat family”, a statement from the Exmouth and East Devon Liberal Democrats said in September.
His father, Brian, was also previously a councillor in the Brixington ward – a seat Andrew held until 2007 – and Halsdon wards of Exmouth.
“We will all regret the premature loss of Andrew – he will leave a huge hole,” said Councillor Tim Dumper, the chair of the Exmouth and Exeter East Liberal Democrats said after Cllr Toye’s death.
“As fellow councillors in Halsdon Ward, we have worked closely together over a number of years.
“As a ward councillor, he always stood up for the interests of residents, and as someone with a strong background in politics, he was able to add considerably to debates at both councils.
Cllr Toye, who held a politics degree and had lived in Exmouth for more than 40 years, was also credited by Cllr Dumper for work that ultimately led to Exmouth Town Council winning the prestigious national award of Star Council for Climate Impact.
“However, Andrew was always more than a councillor,” Cllr Dumper said.
This is the second time elections are being delayed in these areas. Local elections due in May 2025 weredelayedby then communities secretary Angela Rayner for a year in order to convert them into combined authorities led by mayors.
However, it is understood that these councils need more time to complete their reorganisation.
The news has sparked accusations Labour are delaying the elections for political purposes.
Reform UK’s head of policy Zia Yusuf said: “This is a blatant attempt to stop big Reform wins next May.
“It’s an act of a desperate government who are clinging onto power by any means necessary.
“Labour has proven time and time again that they’re not beyond denying democracy to millions of people in order to maintain their cosy status quo.”
Speaking to Mornings with Ridge and Frost, education minister Josh MacAlister said Nigel Farage should “pull the other one”.
He added the postponents in the four areas are down to the councils still having “districts and county levels to be reorganised”.
Mr MacAlister claims the government – that came to power in July last year – has only “recently” taken charge of the country and is bringing a “new set of devolution”.
The Tories’ shadow housing secretary James Cleverly said it was a “scandalous attempt to subvert democracy by a Labour government whose credibility and popularity are already in tatters”.
“The Conservatives firmly oppose this decision to delay the mayoral elections, especially when candidates have been selected and campaigning is well under way,” he added.
“Democracy is being denied yet again after the council elections cancelled by Labour this year.
“There is no credible justification for this move. The Labour government must reverse it immediately.”
The government wants to abolish the two-tier system of county and district councils and merge them together to create larger unitary authorities. It also wants more areas to have regional mayors, like Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham.
Reform UK enjoyed success in the local elections in May, winning more than 600 seats and taking control of 10 councils stretching from Kent to County Durham. The party also toppled a 14,000-strong Labour majority in a parliamentary by-election.
The Liberal Democrats’ local government spokesperson Zoe Franklin called the postponed elections “a disgrace”.
“Democracy delayed is democracy denied,” she added. “We are fighting to end this blatant stitch up between Labour and the Conservatives over local elections.”
East Devon District Council strategic planning committee debated the prospective new local plan a week ago but it was dominated by public concern over sewage capacity.
Peter Williams, representing one of the largest local amenity societies, the Otter Valley Association (OVA), said: “there should be no additional housing for Honiton, Feniton, and the Fluxton catchments without extra [sewage treatment] capacity”.
“There are gaps in the evidence, unanswered questions and simple mistakes”
Fears over the capacity of East Devon’s sewerage system dominated public concerns amid scrutiny of the blueprint for new housing in the district.
A wide-ranging plan that identifies which areas of East Devon can be developed for housing and employment purposes all the way to 2042 underwent further scrutiny before a second public consultation.
The issue raised the most by public speakers, who were addressing the strategic planning committee as it debated the prospective new local plan, related to the likelihood of sewage infrastructure actually being improved before more homes are built.
The committee voted in favour of endorsing the latest draft of the local plan and putting it out for the second stage of consultation, which will begin later this month and end on 26 January.
The comments focused on the outcome of a so-called water cycle study, a long-awaited document that the council says is an independent assessment of the current state of the district’s sewerage system capacity, and, crucially, an indication of how that system would cope if thousands of homes were built without any sewer upgrade work.
Andrew Tyreman, who represents ESCAPE Exmouth (which stands for End Sewage Convoys and Pollution in Exmouth) said he welcomed the study but added he “disagrees with it”.
“There are gaps in the evidence, unanswered questions and simple mistakes,” he said.
“It fails to expose South West Water’s poor performance that led this council to issue a vote of no confidence in the company.”
He added that his group’s experience was that “the current network is not coping”, and that the water cycle study had not included comparisons between local areas or regionally in terms of sewage spills.
Peter Williams, from the Otter Valley Association that has around 2,000 members, said he supported the water cycle study’s conclusion that “there should be no additional housing for Honiton, Feniton, and the Fluxton catchments without extra capacity”.
He added that the group had shown, through Environment agency data, that the River Otter was in the worst 20 per cent of England’s rivers in terms of its health, largely because of untreated sewage discharges.
“Honiton is projected to have the largest proportional increase in homes [under this prospective local plan] and significant growth around it, and so Honiton would require a significant increase in capacity,” he added.
“The study says there should be no additional housing load without first addressing clear deficits in capacity, and the silver lining is that it says South West Water could remedy critical issues by bringing forward scheduled updates in Honiton to a 2030 completion.”
Mr Williams stated he wanted the council to “require South West Water to bring froward plans before housing development in the Otter catchment area”.
Watch Peter Williams putting the case to halt building
Councillor Todd Olive (Liberal Democrat, Rockbeare & Whimple), the chair of the strategic planning committee, said that was “absolutely what we will be looking to do”.
“It is exactly that measure the report looks at, the phasing and delay of development,” he said.
Later adding: “Development in the Honiton catchment will be delayed if there is insufficient water or sewage infrastructure.”
Councillor Paul Arnott (Liberal Democrat, Coly Valley), the leader of East Devon District Council, said he thought the report showed that Haskoning, the company that carried out the work, had been “trying to get blood from a stone” in terms of extracting the necessary information from South West Water.
“There was swerving, bobbing and weaving questions by South West Water to questions from Haskoning on behalf of this council,” he said.
“And follow-ups were supposed to happen but something went awry. Essentially, the clock has been running down and we have been developing our local plan when we should have had information from South West Water two or three years ago, and we have had to really push them to do so.”
Watch Cllr Arnott’s response in this clip – (So no change from the SWW attitude at the EDDC scrutiny meeting held in early Feb 2024, nearly two years ago!) – Owl
The water cycle study, commissioned by East Devon District Council and carried out by sustainability consultants Haskoning, provides independent analysis of immediate and potential future concerns over various water and water-related infrastructure issues, notably waste water treatment plants.
Concerningly, its new analysis suggests four of East Devon’s 16 waste water treatment plants are already running beyond their dry weather flow capacity permit limits, and that seven – including Maer Lane in Exmouth, Feniton and Otterton – would be doing so if house building targets in East Devon are hit without any sewer infrastructure upgrades or additions.
The water company said its plants in East Devon were not exceeding their limits, and that if they were, the company would be facing enforcement action.
South West Water added that it wanted to work with East Devon to ensure it could support the council’s housing strategy, and that it would always aim to ensure extra demand, including through housing development, could be met with improvements or additions to the sewage system.
Psst – The timing of all this looks difficult for the government. We have division and disarray stoked by Plymouth and Exeter backing a four council split separating the highly urbanised areas from the Devon “countryside”. The government is supposed to resolve this and “consult” on the final judgement by June 2026, with elections for the new councils held in May 2027 and the new councils launching in 2028. Owl assumes that the existing county council divisions would be used to elect these councillors suggesting that Labour would have little representation outside Plymouth, however you carve the turkey. All this happens in the run up to the next election.
The vision statement: “Reimagining Devon: Believe in Better”
Big changes could be coming to how councils carry out their work.
East Devon District Council has approved a new business case for reshaping local government, developed in collaboration with six district councils under the Reimagining Devon: Believe in Better programme.
The plan responds to the UK government’s plan to simplify the structure of local services in England.
Councillor John Loudoun, deputy leader of East Devon District Council, said: “Submitting Reimagining Devon: Believe in Better marks an important step in shaping the future of local government in our county.
“Now with formal backing from East Devon councillors, our proposal will create balanced and sustainable authorities that can thrive.”
The proposal sets out the creation of three unitary authorities in Devon:
– Torbay and Southern Devon (covering South Hams, Teignbridge, Torbay and West Devon)
– Exeter and Northern Devon (covering East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon and Torridge)
– Plymouth City Council would remain a standalone unitary authority
A government-led public consultation is expected to take place in early 2026.
Mr Loudoun said: “We have worked hard, across political and geographic boundaries, to develop a financially sound model that reflects Devon’s unique identity and delivers accessible, high-quality services at the heart of our communities.
“My thanks go to the residents, businesses, community groups and partners who helped inform this work.
“A further consultation will take place in the new year, and I urge everyone to get involved to help ensure we build a local government structure that truly serves our communities for generations to come.”
The full proposal is available to view on the Reimagining Devon website and will be submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government following council approvals.
A final decision is expected in summer 2026.
Elections for the new authority would be held in May 2027, ahead of its planned launch in 2028.
Simultaneously with this news breaking, Owl was receiving reports of a fleet of tankers once again transporting raw sewage from the Budleigh Lime Kiln holding tank, through the High Street, presumably to the Maer Lane treatment works at Exmouth.
The operation has continued over the weekend involving a fleet of at least eight tankers.
A popular Devon beach that secured an internationally recognised award for the first time this year looks set to lose the accolade in 2026.
Budleigh Salterton beach bagged the Blue Flag award for the 2025 season earlier this year for the first time, but a drop in its water quality means local experts believe it will have to give it up next year.
That’s because the water quality has now been measured only as ‘good’ by the Environment Agency, and the Blue Flag award requires it to be ‘excellent’.
The Environment Agency said it took samples on 20 occasions between May 1 and September 30 this year, and that the classification is now ‘good’, having been ‘excellent’ in 2024, 2023 and 2022.
The data shows slightly elevated levels of Intestinal Enterococci (IE) and Escherichia coli (E.coli). The levels of the latter are lower than 2021, but have crept up since 2022, according to data on South West Water’s website.
However, the water firm said there had been 100 fewer sewer spills in 2025 than last year. Plus, while sewage spills can be a contributor to poorer water quality, other factors can also be to blame, including agricultural run-off, animal effluence, or pollution from urban sources.
It added that its bathing water report showed that even if combined sewer overflows were completely stopped, this wouldn’t automatically lead to ‘excellent’ water quality because of those other factors.
The Blue Flag is awarded in the UK by Keep Britain Tidy, and its criteria relates to environmental education and information, cleanliness, environmental and operational management, and safety and facilities.
A daily lifeguard service for the beach was secured in July until September as part of efforts to gain the Blue Flag.
Peter Williams, from the Otter Valley Association, said he had raised concerns about sewage overflows in the area to South West Water as East Devon District Council.
“The water quality for a Blue Flag has to be excellent, so for the 2026 season it will only be good, meaning I don’t think we will qualify for a Blue Flag,” he said.
“It has been so predictable too, as the Lime Kiln pumping station has been broken for two years, and I have spoken to the district and town councils about how important this is as I feared it could lead to us losing the ‘excellent’ water quality rating.
Mr Williams acknowledged South West Water had carried out remedial and improvement work towards the top of the town, but believed further work near Fore Street and Brook Road had not been completed and was contributing to the reduction in water quality.
“They did the first bit of work in January and February this year, but I said it wouldn’t be enough and that we needed to push South West Water to finish the job,” he said.
SWW’s website states it has invested around £3.6 million to reduce the number of spills from its storm overflows in the town, with Meadow Road storm overflow improved in March 2022, and “major work” to clean the 7.7 kilometre long rising main from Lime Kilns pumping station to Maer Lane sewage treatment works had been completed in November 2023.
It noted it was relining sewers and removing land drains to reduce the volume of water in the network, which should help reduce storm overflows. This work started in July 2024.
The Lime Kiln storm overflow had 212 spills in 2024, well above the 118 in 2023 and the 31 in 2022.
Keep Britain Tidy, which hands out the Blue Flag awards, was contacted for comment but did not respond.
South West Water added the Environment Agency was in the process of carrying out additional testing at Budleigh to identify the cause of the deteriorating water quality.
Featuring Jo Bateman, Jeremy Vine, Chris Packham and Jim Murray MBE.
The sold out world premier screening took place two weeks ago at the Exeter Phoenix.
There is an extra preview screening on Sunday 28 Dec: 2.30pm
Jo in the Water follows a passionate sea swimmer turned reluctant activist, Exmouth-based Jo Bateman, as she takes on one of the UK’s biggest water companies in a David-and-Goliath battle to protect our waters from devastating sewage pollution.
As Jo’s courage helps ignite a growing movement, this film exposes the dire state of our water system and asks: who will stand up for our right to swim in clean natural waters, for the species and communities that rely upon them?
Jo in the Water is a feature-length documentary being made by award-winning filmmakers with a strong track record of bringing powerful stories to our cinema screens. It is not just about water pollution; it is about connection—to nature, to our own sense of place, and to our responsibility for the world around us.
“Jo inspires people… they realise that together we have a greater strength. In a shoal like this we become mighty.” – Chris Packham, Wildlife TV presenter & conservationist
East Devon Watch 