Former punk band frontman turned environmentalist Feargal Sharkey has visited Thanet as part of his ‘Stop the Sh*t Show’ tour to highlight UK water pollution
Feargal, who is President of Labour’s Environment Campaign SERA, came to Margate on June 15 and met Labour election candidate for East Thanet Polly Billington and candidate for Herne Bay and Sandwich, Helen Whitehead, local Labour campaigners and the public to highlight pollution in Walpole bay.
Feargal listened and spoke to business owners about their concerns that continued sewage water dumping will have a long term impact on Thanet’s multi million pound tourism economy unless it is successfully tackled.
He said: “The situation regarding our water industry is simply scandalous and must be addressed. There is no excuse. The powers are there to clamp down on the bosses. They are not being used and the companies are getting away with neglect on an epic scale. This pollution requires political will to fix it.”
Feargal met business people from Margate including Katy Lassen from Harbour and Tide, Annie Godsman from the Fort Hotel, Lee Coad from Angela’s and Dory’s restaurants and Sarah Hakewill who runs @seaofpurpose.
Katy said. “Businesses like ours rely on people feeling safe so they can enjoy the sea. Having to check if there has been a raw sewage dump before going in really hampers people’s experience.
“And for those of us whose businesses are built around the seaside we all love, this could have serious long term effects. It’s pretty basic, to keep the sea clean. We need the water industry sorted out, and I want an MP who will make that happen.”
Polly Billington says she is committed to tackling the sewage scandal as an economic as well as a health and environmental threat.
She said: “For a community made up of three seaside resorts the impact of the sewage scandal on our economy is real. As one business owner said to me “No one wants to kayak through crap” and fear of ill health risks reducing people’s willingness to holiday and enjoy our wonderful coastline.
“The impact on the environment is not in question and the risks to our health are clear, as surfers against sewage report the number of illnesses linked to sewage dumping.
“Businesses can feel its impact too and the long term effects on our economy could be serious. The latest figures indicate we have a £220 million tourism industry in Thanet (2022). This is why tackling this scandal will be a priority, not just for me if elected as the local MP, but for the Labour government.
“Labour will make the water industry bosses face criminal charges if they fail to stop the dumping, block their bonuses until they clean up their filth and impose fines they cannot ignore.
“For too long the Tories have behaved as if this is nothing to do with them and ignored the economic risks to coastal communities of this scandal. Doing nothing doesn’t cost nothing. Businesses here in Thanet are paying the price of conservative failures on sewage.”
The campaign against sewage releases into UK seas and rivers was also highlighted this week during a visit by 38 Degrees campaigners.
On Monday (June 17) Margate residents were offered a sweet treat with a twist, as ‘sewage sundaes’ were handed out around Margate’s harbour.
The tongue-in-cheek stunt was carried out to highlight the dumping of raw sewage across our coastline.
During 38 Degrees’ sewage ice cream van’s tour of the South coast of England campaigners have visited seaside towns like Brighton and Eastbourne, with hundreds of free ice creams handed out, and people who care about their coastline invited to join the campaign to end sewage in our seas.
More than 56,000 people have now signed the petition, addressed to whoever forms the next Government, which demands real accountability for polluting water companies and an end to sewage in our seas.
Matthew McGregor, CEO at 38 Degrees, said: “ The Great British seaside is quintessential for a reason, and there should be nothing better than a day out on the beach. But thanks to failures of regulation and water companies literally taking the p**s, beautiful beaches across the country, in places like Margate, are being splattered with sewage, day after day.
“To make plain to political leaders in this election the scale of the mess we’re in, we thought we’d take the next step – transforming the classic seaside ice cream cone into sewage sundaes.
“Luckily, unlike the South East’s beautiful coastline, our ice creams didn’t actually contain any effluent. But if politicians are anything like as disgusted by the sound of the ‘scummy sewage sorbet’ or the ‘sludge sundae’ as the public in Margate were, it’s time for them to pledge to hold polluting water companies to account.
“With the general election campaign in full swing, anyone who wants to win voters’ support must promise real accountability for any water company that treats our beaches like their own personal toilet, while leaving their shareholders flush with cash.
“The next Government should fine failing water companies by taking shares, not just their bonuses or profits, to give us, the public, a real say in their decision – and if they still can’t clean up their act, they must agree to renationalise these firms and their profits.”
According to Southern Water’s Rivers and Sea Watch data Walpole had one release for 2024 in February and there was another at St Mildred’s in May.
