Key players 'have to restore trust' in controversial pipeline scheme

More than 200 people packed out The Community College in Bishop’s Castle on Monday evening (March 10) to hear about Severn Trent Water’s plan to transfer fully treated wastewater from its plant in the town and discharge it into the river Onny.

Currently, the water enters the Snakescroft Brook, which runs into the river Kemp and the river Clun.

Severn Trent is required to upgrade the treatment works in Bishop’s Castle to improve the quality of the brook, which is currently failing to achieve good status under the Water Framework Directive.

The Clun is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to its endangered freshwater pearl mussels, meaning that any development plans in the area, including housing projects, are subject to strict environmental regulations to minimise any adverse impact.

The Onny does not have the same status. However, local anglers and conservationalists say it is home to wildlife including otters and kingfishers, and is a vital breeding ground for brown trout, grayling and Atlantic salmon.

The scheme willl only get the go ahead if it is approved by the Environment Agency and Natural England, with Severn Trent providing the bodies with the relevant evidence.

Both Severn Trent and Natural England were represented at the meeting, however no one from the Environment Agency or Shropshire Council attended. At the school’s entrance were signs campaigning against the scheme – similar to those that have been placed along the A49 and A489.

A petition to “stop the pipe” has also reached over 8,600 signatures.

“We haven’t got new housing to move people to , so it isn’t good for the town, said Councillor Jane Carroll, from Bishop’s Castle Town Council.

“So the scheme you’re coming up with should be the answer to our prayers.

“The reason it isn’t is because people don’t really trust Severn Trent or the Environment Agency because of the state the rivers have been allowed to get into. How on earth do you build trust because that is the problem.”

In response, Emma Johnson, Midlands deputy director for Natural England, said: “We care about the environment but we also want affordable housing for people.

“I’m really pleased so many people are here because it needs to to be the start of the conversation and what we can collaboratively do to understand everyone’s position moving forward. I think that’s the only way to build trust, but it doesn’t happen quickly.”

Mark Craig, asset strategy lead for wastewater at Severn Trent Water, said that attending meetings where people can air their views is one way to restore trust.

“We will share all the information you’ve got about how we’re conducting the investigation,” said Mr Craig.

“We’ve got nothing to hide, we don’t have a hidden agenda.

“We will conduct the investigations and be led by the evidence. If the evidence says it’s a bad idea, I will hold my hands up and say, ‘it’s a stupid idea’, take it on the chin and do something else instead.

“I don’t have a strong opinion about building a pipeline or not building it. We’re trying to put forward something that we thought would help the environment, but if the investigation shows that is not we should do, we will do something different.”

The enviromental assessment – which will consider the impact of the proposal on the hydrology, ecology (fish) and water quality of both the river Onny and water bodies in the Clun catchment – is expected to be carried out between April 2025 and April 2027.

However, John Wood, from the Onny Preservation Group, believes that it will be a waste of time.

“I find it extroadinary that we’re going to be spending the next two years doing an environmental study to work out, what is to me, absolutely obvious,” said Mr Wood.

“To say that taking four or five per cent of the pollution going down the Clun at the moment, and to pour it down the Onny, is not going to cause any deterioration is beyond belief.”