Residents' anger over sewage pipe into sea plans

Residents and swimmers are angry about plans for a treated sewage pipe directly into the sea.

A consultation is being held ahead of groundwork investigations for the 4.6-mile long (7.5km) pipe into the North Sea near Redcar.

Becky Dawson swims at Redcar beach three times a week and worries about coming "nose to nose with something unpleasant" if the plan goes ahead.

Northumbrian Water said the current consultation related to ground investigation work only and acknowledged that notices put up in the area "may not provide full context on their own".

The water firm said the long sea outfall would replace an existing pipe at Bran Sands treatment works, which currently releases liquid waste which has already gone through advanced cleaning processes.

The wider planning application for the pipe is not expected to be submitted until 2027, and a full consultation is expected to be held ahead of that.

Information events about the plans are due to be held in the coming months.

Dawson said she was "not at all happy" about the proposal, which includes a pumping station with 1.8 miles (3km) of pipe on land and 2.7 miles (4.5km) of pipe offshore into the North Sea.

"Northumbrian Water have put up small notices on the back of signs but lots of people will have not seen them," she said.

"I don't want to be swimming along and come nose to nose with something unpleasant, I already try not to swallow sea water as it is."

Sarah Leppington, who lives in Redcar, said she was "appalled" at the plans after moving to the area four years ago to enjoy the coastline.

"I am also deeply concerned by the knowledge that other private companies will be given access to this facility," she said.

"To quote Northumbrian Water's proposal to Ofwat, there will be 'capacity to accept other effluent streams from other significant independent operators'."

The Environment Agency said it was supportive of the proposal for a long sea outfall in principal.

A spokesperson said: "We will ensure the water environment is protected and enhanced by any scheme approved."

Northumbrian Water said ground investigation work would help them understand seabed conditions and help to design the long sea outfall.

A spokesperson said: "The environment is at the heart of everything we do as a business, and we are currently in the early stages of developing a project that will help to protect and improve habitats in the Tees Estuary and Cleveland Coast Special Protection Area.

"Building a new long sea outfall delivers better environmental protection for the Tees Estuary and the surrounding coastline.

"We recognise that the notices may not have provided full context on their own, and we are committed to providing more information as the project develops."

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