Charity ‘appalled’ by sewage in Berkshire stream

Revelations in the media that sewage has been consistently and deliberately released into the Foudry Brook south of Reading confirms that pollution of our rivers and streams is one of the biggest problems facing the local countryside, according to the Berkshire Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

Confirmation of these releases of sewage into the Foudry Brook near the village of Stratfield Mortimer follows just a fortnight after CPRE’s publication of its 2023 “Manifesto for Berkshire’s Countryside”, which the charity hopes will help to shape political debate and discussion in the lead-up to the local council elections next month.

The Manifesto highlighted water pollution as a key issue for Berkshire and urged council candidates to commit themselves to “working in partnership with the water companies to stop the release of sewage into our rivers and streams.”

The Foudry Brook, which is in the West Berkshire district council area and which flows into the River Kennet just west of Reading, is in an environmentally sensitive area of countryside and close to the archaeologically important Roman site of Silchester and several Bronze Age barrows. The Foudry Brook also passes through the Pamber nature reserve.

Greg Wilkinson, Chairman of CPRE Berkshire, says: “We are appalled by what is being done to the Foudry Brook. We cannot continue to allow the natural environment of the Royal County, and in particular the biodiversity of our beautiful countryside, to be ruined in this way. We are seeing too many examples of this happening. That is why we made it one of our priority concerns in our recently-published Manifesto for Berkshire’s Countryside.”

He adds: “Alarmingly, this is far from being an isolated incident, as there have been previous reports of sewage being released into the Foudry Brook, and a stretch of the River Kennet near Hungerford has been found to contain significant amount of agricultural chemicals such as insecticides which may have drained into it from nearby farmland. This combination of sewage releases and accidental leakage of chemicals into our rivers is an absolute disgrace.

“I hope that councillors elected on May 4 will be able to work with the Environment Agency, the water and waste industry and with local farmers and landowners to find long-term solutions that will put a stop to this problem of pollution in our rivers and streams.”

CPRE’s Manifesto covers a wide range of environmental concerns, calling on election candidates of all parties to “acknowledge that the heritage of the Royal County of Berkshire is entrusted to us, and so  endeavour to protect all our precious countryside and open spaces, including the Green Belt and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so that it remains attractive and tranquil while preserving the integrity and character of our historic towns and villages.”

For further information on CPRE Berkshire’s campaigns, visit the group’s website: www.cpreberkshire.org.uk or follow the group on social media.