Rivers in his constituency are “drowning under a barrage of pollution”, says David Chadwick.
The Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP said in a Westminster Hall debate that he is privileged to represent a constituency that is home to some of the UK’s most powerful rivers, including the Wye, Usk and Towy.
But he said “these national treasures” are heavily polluted, harming the environment and local wildlife and “jeopardising industries such as tourism, leisure and angling”.
Video from Parliamentlive.tv
The Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP said in a Westminster Hall debate that he is privileged to represent a constituency that is home to some of the UK’s most powerful rivers, including the Wye, Usk and Towy.
But he said “these national treasures” are heavily polluted, harming the environment and local wildlife and “jeopardising industries such as tourism, leisure and angling”.
Video from Parliamentlive.tv
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NewsTranscript
00:00It's a pleasure to serve under your chairship and I'd like to thank the Honourable Member
00:06for securing this debate.
00:08Like the Honourable Member, I'm privileged to represent a constituency home to some of
00:13the UK's most powerful rivers, including the rivers Wye, Usk and Tower.
00:18However, these national treasures are drowning under a barrage of pollution.
00:24The Wye, Usk and Tower are heavily polluted, harming the environment, local wildlife and
00:28jeopardising industries like tourism, leisure and angling.
00:32I support fully the concerns raised regarding the previous Conservative Government's failure
00:37to tackle water pollution.
00:39Conservative neglect allowed water companies to pollute rivers with impunity, while siphoning
00:44profits to pay excessive bonuses and dividends.
00:48But I must say, people want swift action now.
00:53The last Government, as she mentioned, had several roundtables on how to clean up the
00:57Wye and what happened.
01:00Very little.
01:01The impact of the inability to clean up our rivers is hurting local communities in my
01:06constituency.
01:07We know there's a housing crisis caused by a shortage of affordable homes.
01:11In Talgarth, a moratorium on new homes has been in place since 2022, meaning several
01:17much-needed housing schemes are frozen.
01:21Oversight from the Welsh Labour Government in Wales has fallen short.
01:26For years, Dŵr Cymru, though a non-profit, failed to invest in infrastructure, still
01:31diverted funds into executive pay, and is one of the worst offenders when it comes to
01:36sewage dumping.
01:38There's widespread agreement that stronger regulations on water pollution are needed,
01:43a stance I support fully.
01:45But regulations are only effective if they are enforced.
01:50And in Wales, enforcement is severely lacking.
01:54Natural Resources Wales, our environmental regulator, has faced a decade of cuts under
01:59the Welsh Government, and is currently operating at least 50 staff members short of what is
02:04needed to do the job effectively.