Eco Friends West Berkshire came together with the local community, Mayors from Thatcham and Newbury, district and town councillors and MP Lee Dillon on 17 May for a national protest with Surfers Against Sewage to say to Thames Water that “you have to do better.”
“Our rivers are important to us for recreation and for the wildlife,” a spokesperson from Eco Friends said. “Thames Water discharged sewage into these 23,000 times last year. What gets dumped in the rivers finds its way to the ocean. We want the water companies and the regulators to put people and wildlife before profit. Invest in the antiquated systems and stop polluting our rivers and making us sick.”
Surfers Against Sewage has drafted a suggested letter which people can send to their MP and you can click here to see this. One MP who won’t need reminding about this is Newbury’s Lee Dillon, who was at the event. He was disappointed not to be able to take to the water but this was something that the health and safety red tape prohibited.
“We’ll be back next year bigger, louder, better and hopefully getting wet on the water,” the organisers confirmed. “We aren’t going away until it’s sorted…”
One of the items on display was a large card with on which people were invited to inscribe messages to Thames Water (see photo above). Penny Post duly contributed to this. How and when this will be delivered to the troubled water giant is unclear. The sentiments will hardly be surprising to them but they certainly bear repetition.
That having been read, Thames Water’s bosses will be turning their attention to the immediate future of their leaking company. The BBC has recently reported that it has picked US private equity giant KKR as its “preferred partner” to buy the troubled water utility firm. “The planned investment by KKR,” the article continues, “would help it deal with its mountain of debt, and Thames is aiming for the transaction to be completed in the second half of this year.”
Others remain unimpressed. The Friends of the Thames recently sent a letter to Steve Reed MP, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, uring him to “reject their bid outright.”
It claims that KKR’s track record in essential services is “deeply concerning. Their involvement in previous takeovers—such as the acquisition and running down of Telecom Italia—has been marked by aggressive cost-cutting, job losses, asset stripping, and long-term underinvestment. The firm’s model prioritises short-term investor returns over public service, environmental protection, and sustainability.”
The letter also argues that, based on its current trading and accounts, Thames Water’s value is “arguably zero or less. In any other sector, such an entity would be declared insolvent and stripped of its operating licence.” Thje outcome shoudl be, the Friends claim that mr Reed should “use existing powers to revoke Thames Water’s licence and transfer its operations to a new public body—an environmentally responsible utility run in the public interest.” It points out that similar models of public ownership can be found in a number of places, including in France and Germany.
More information about Newbury and the surrounding villages can be found in Penny Post’s Newbury Area Weekly News column, updated every Thursday evening and at other times as necessary. This includes news stories, events, information on voluntary and community groups and updates from the town and parish councils.
