Full News Report

5th March 2025

Water Authority views ‘key to all future development’

ON what may well be his last campaigning stance before retiring as a Cornwall County councillor after more than 20 years, Armand Toms has called for South West Water (SWW) to not only be consulted on every planning application but also to have their views taken fully into consideration.

Cllr Toms, the independent member for Looe East and Deviock ward (including Morval Parish), says it is even more vital than ever that SWW are brought into planning decisions because of the Government’s mandate that Cornwall should have much more housing.

Following a number of meetings with Water Authority staff and personnel, Cllr Toms has written to Cornwall Council, urging Planners to pay heed to what effect additional development will have on the county’s water supplies and sewage outfalls.

“I have tried again to get Cornwall Council to make SWW a statutory consultee for all planning applications,” he said.

“This is because we need to make sure that there is capacity in the system to provide for all new developments.

“Having highlighted the work that SWW was, and is doing with North Devon, it cheered me to hear the work now being done with Torridge and Exeter,” he said.

South West Water’s Pre-Development Officer Helen Steed has welcomed Cllr Toms’ involvement, particularly as she has consistently reached out to all councils in the authority’s area calling for any water-related planning issues to be resolved before further development was allowed.

Said Cllr Toms: “South West Water review over 30,000 applications but need to do more as the new numbers for housing across the area means that some developments with need pre-work on their infrastructure (like in Truro).”

And he told Ms Steed: “The offer you made to work with the councils across Cornwall in plans for the future needs, and the reviewing of NDPs (National Development Plans) will be of interest to many councillors and councils.

“I am asking those councillors to take up the offer to work with SWW as you have done in other areas to make sure that developments are properly considered.

“Can I propose that a meeting with Planning at Cornwall Council is set up urgently for this all to happen.”