Local Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate, Richard Burt has today written to Severn Trent bosses calling on them to scrap plans for a sewage treatment plant, costing up to half a million pounds, for a dozen homes at Coles Green near Leigh Sinton, and which local residents say is now completely unnecessary.
Mr Burt is backing nearby Sandlin resident, Richard Blackwell, saying the plant, which has the capacity to treat sewage from 2000 people, would be a "scandalous waste of money".
The original request for a treatment plant dates back to 1997, when sewage from a septic tank serving the Coles Green homes overflowed, polluting a nearby brook. The tank is now emptied monthly and no longer presents a problem.
Richard said:
"Environment Agency officials have recently given the brook a clean bill of health, so why on earth would Severn Trent want to press ahead with a planning application for a treatment plant of this size to serve just 12 homes?
"Even if was built, residents would have to pay hundreds of pounds to be connected and could easily choose not to do so.
"This is bureaucratic planning gone mad. There is no longer a problem at Coles Green, so there is no need for an expensive solution.
"I have pointed out to Severn Trent that up to half a million would be much better spent on supporting bids for flood defences in places like Tenbury and Kempsey where residents are crying out for financial help."
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