Plymouth MP says South West Water must publish investment plan 'within six weeks'
Mr Pollard said people in Plymouth have been left “paying the price for years of underinvestment in the Plymouth Central works"
Last updated 7th Oct 2026
Luke Pollard MP has today (Tuesday 7 October 2026) called for South West Water to publish an investment plan for Plymouth Central Wastewater Works at Cattedown within six weeks.
Writing to the CEO of South West Water, Keith Haslett, Mr Pollard said people in Plymouth have been left “paying the price for years of underinvestment in the Plymouth Central works".
The MP said this investment must come from South West Water profits not “water bill hikes”.
An investigation of the Plymouth Central works last week by the Environment Agency uncovered that South West Water was "discharging sewage, without permission, into Plymouth Sound".
Mr Pollard said that under-investment in Plymouth Central treatment works has also left residents in Cattedown facing “unbearable pongs for several years". The MP said after campaigning, the firm launched an online tool to make it easier to report bad smells from the works in June.
Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said:
“Today I’m calling on South West Water to urgently publish an investment plan for Plymouth Central Wastewater Works. Within six weeks, I want South West Water bosses to tell people in Plymouth exactly what investment will be made to fix the chronic problems with this site.
“What remaining shreds of public confidence there might be in South West Water were seriously tested last week with the sewage dumping into Plymouth Sound. It is astonishing that South West Water failed to tell the public about this, leaving it to the EA to uncover.
"People in Plymouth deserve urgent investment and improvements to our water infrastructure. This must come from South West Water profits not more hikes to water bills."
We have approached South West Water for comment.