Redcar council paid £418k to settle Saltburn sewage spill
Almost two years on from the spill at Cat Nab, Saltburn, in February 2022, the events continue to be discussed behind closed doors at Redcar and Cleveland Council with scrutiny committee members and ward councillors being briefed in recent months over a report into the incident.
The report by council auditor Veritau, which investigated what occurred, has never been fully released, while a promised report to the council’s cabinet is also yet to materialise.
It has now emerged that the council paid out £418,493 to Northumbrian Water earlier this year to settle its repair costs after pipework was damaged during excavations for a council car park improvement scheme.
A council spokeswoman confirmed the payment and told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the money was “paid from an insurance reserve held for claims”.
Saltburn councillor Philip Thomson said: “This was one of the largest pollutant events in the area in recent memory.
Saltburn ward councillor Philip Thomson. Picture: Ian Cooper/Teesside Live
“It has taken an inordinate amount of time to address this matter with all of its ramifications and the public are entitled to understand why this happened.”
The council had previously denied liability for the damage and it is understood it continues to pursue a claim of its own against an external contractor involved in the car park scheme, which is yet to be resolved.
It said it had relied on a project design drafted by the contractor with operatives subsequently damaging the pipe during piling work – where foundations are drilled or bored into the ground.
The damage to the pipe caused part of the beach to be cordoned off with sewage escaping into a beck and onto the beach, and led to lengthy and complex engineering work being carried out by Northumbrian Water to stem the sewage flow and complete necessary repairs.
After attempts were made by the LDRS to have the Veritau report released on public interest grounds, the council previously said: “Ultimately, it is considered that disclosure would severely prejudice the council in future legal action if [the] detail of investigations were made public.
“It is felt that, whilst there is a public interest in knowing the detail of this matter the public interest in the minutiae is not so high as to outweigh the prejudice which would be caused to the council, the third party contractor and, ultimately, the taxpayer.”
It also said in a statement issued in January last year: “The outcome [of the investigation] will be reported to the cabinet in due course but, in the meantime, actions are being taken to avoid a similar incident occurring in the future.”
The council spokeswoman said the Veritau report was not deemed suitable for publication due to personal/third party data contained within it.
Cllr Thomson had requested of officers that the incident be discussed at a scrutiny committee he is a member of, which was agreed, but it has been deemed an exempt matter and thus not held in public session.
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The LDRS contacted Cllr Thomson’s fellow ward councillors Craig Hannaway and Stuart Smith over the concerns expressed, but neither responded.
Northumbrian Water said in a statement: “Following the damage to one of our sewer pipes at Cat Nab car park in Saltburn back in 2022, we can confirm that all costs have now been reclaimed.”
The company had to build a mini-treatment works from scratch, also carrying out damming to redirect water flows from the nearby Skelton Beck and eventually installing a custom made new pipe and fittings.