SOUTH West Water (SWW) is sending tankers to a new north Cornwall housing estate after mistakenly telling a developer there was an adequate sewage disposal system.

South West Water tankers are now a daily sight at the Chapelfields development in St Mabyn, near Wadebridge, as residents move in to their new homes at the estate, the properties of which have no sewage connection.

St Mabyn Parish Council’s chairman says South West Water ignored years of warnings from the council and local residents that what it had described as a “sewage treatment works” did not in fact exist. Last year saw roadworks and pipe-laying through the village even though there was nowhere for the sewage to go.

The water company says it is now applying to upgrade the local wastewater treatment works so it can receive new sewage flows from the properties at Chapelfields.

Graham Smith, chairman of St Mabyn Parish Council said: “South West Water did not accept it had made a serious mistake until the first residents moved in shortly before Christmas. The full extent of the blunder is now becoming ever more obvious as more homes are completed, more new residents move in and the volumes of sewage increase.”

St Mabyn Parish Council is demanding that South West Water should now come to the village for a meeting to explain its long-term solution. Mr Smith added: “The phrase ‘cock-up’ does not even begin to adequately describe this monumental blunder by South West Water. Villagers are understandably very angry.

“For years we have been warning South West Water that there is no sewage treatment works in St Mabyn. The company’s failure to listen now has very serious consequences. I wonder how many other developments in rural areas have gone ahead without a sewage disposal plan.

“There is no obvious solution and it looks as if South West Water is going to have to spend a great deal of money to put this right.”

In January 2025, Ben Maguire, the member of parliament for North Cornwall (Liberal Democrat) called on the chief executive of South West Water to resign because of the company’s failure to invest in adequate infrastructure.

South West Water says it is carrying out daily checks on the housing estate’s private pumping station levels and is currently making three tanker trips each week to St Mabyn to alleviate the situation.

A spokesperson for the Pennon Group, the owner of South West Water said: “We are applying to the Environment Agency for a new permit which will allow us to upgrade the local wastewater treatment works so it can receive new flows from the Chapelfields development. In the meantime, we will continue to carry out daily checks on the private pumping station and use a tanker to remove flows until our upgrade has been completed.”

The Chapelfields development was approved by a Cornwall Council planning committee in 2018 despite opposition from St Mabyn Parish Council, who felt that the homes were “inappropriate”.