Southern Water’s chief executive will attend an ‘emergency’ meeting on the Isle of Wight after criticism of the company over coastal sewage pollution and disruptive works leading to road closures.
Lawrence Gosden acknowledged the ‘strength of feeling’ on the Island and said Southern Water was investing significantly on the Isle of Wight, in an email to councillors, MPs and County Hall’s chief executive.
The response follows a request for a visit from the Liberal Democrats.
They pointed to two ‘escalating and interlinked’ crises affecting the Island: the ‘continued discharge’ of sewage into coastal waters and the ‘severe and ongoing’ effect of Southern Water’s works on local businesses and the Island’s road network.
In a letter to Mr Gosden, the 4-member group said local businesses are reporting significant loss of trade, some as high as 50 per cent of their usual footfall, directly resulting from protracted road closures, diversions and poor coordination of infrastructure works.
They said:
“Since the beginning of 2026, the Island has experienced a record of rain which has meant that across the Island, Southern Water is daily and hourly discharging sewage into the English Channel, Solent and Isle of Wight waterways and causing major pollution.
“Although we recognise Southern Water is investing in updating its infrastructure on the Isle of Wight, this is not keeping up with the realities of what is happening on the ground and only by you physically visiting the Island along with your board and talking to the Isle of Wight Council, local MPs, and local people and visiting sites, will you really get an understanding of the problems.
Article continues below this advertisement “Southern Water is currently undertaking major works; however, these are not being delivered in effective coordination with other stakeholders, resulting in repeated and overlapping road closures and traffic disruption.”
“This has caused chaos across parts of the Island’s road network and placed an unfair burden on local businesses, many of whom are already operating in a fragile economic climate.”
The councillors urged Southern Water to engage ‘immediately and directly’ with affected businesses to improve communication and mitigate the ongoing impact on trade.
They also referred to a planned Isle of Wight Council motion calling on the local authority to hold an emergency public meeting with Southern Water’s chief executive and board.
The forum would allow the company to be held to account for the ‘lack of real progress and investment’ in maintaining and developing an Island-wide fit-for-purpose and sustainable water and sewage system, the motion says.
It also wants Southern Water to be answerable for the ‘continuing high discharge’ of sewage and pollution into the Solent and Isle of Wight ecosytems, and recent increase in water bills for Island residents.
Mr Gosden responded:
“I am very willing to meet with you on the Island to discuss these issues directly. My team will be in touch to propose dates shortly.
“I do want to be clear on a couple of points ahead of that discussion. Southern Water is investing significantly on the Isle of Wight, and that investment is already delivering improvements, including reductions in the duration of storm overflow spills at a number of locations.
“Recent exceptional rainfall has put significant pressure on our network, but I am confident that we are already seeing improvements thanks to the work of our teams including updating the technology at Appley pumping station.”
Referring to roadworks, the chief executive said he fully recognises the disruption they can cause but added that they are necessary to secure long-term environmental and performance improvements.
Mr Gosden said work is being undertaken as quickly as possible to minimise disruption and Southern Water is committed to working with the council and local stakeholders to improve coordination and communication and to minimise impacts ‘wherever possible’.
Ask him why there’s only a max of 5 men working on Cowes > Newport main route! Also ask him how much he gets paid annually to spout Sh1t whilst his employers keep pumping it into our seas?
Brass and neck come to mind
It’s ok our bill going up again this year..
Probably will come in a helicopter. To avoid the constant disruption on our roads, by utility companies. Expect after last years 48% increase and 8% this year he’ll have plenty of cash.
His last pay was £691,000, read the telegraph article, absolutely disgusting, I’ll pay my water bill for the water I use but not anything else, take it out of his wages??