Call for Scottish Water to use cash reserves to build new plant and end Seafield stench

Scottish Water is being urged to use cash from its reserves to pay for a new sewage works to end the notorious Seafield stench.

Scottish Water is investing £10m in the Seafield plant Photo: Ian Georgeson

Katrina Faccenda, Labour’s candidate in Edinburgh Northern and Leith in May’s Holyrood elections, said it was a “scandal” that the publicly owned company was not willing to put some of its £391 million cash balance for 2020/21 – which was five times higher than forecast – into solving the odour problem from the Seafield plant which had plagued the area for decades.

And she accused the Scottish Government of kicking the issue into the long grass with talk of a new sewage works at Seafield after 2030.

Scottish Water has announced plans for a £10m investment to increase sludge storage at the site in a bit to tackle the smell.

But Ms Faccenda says many local people are not convinced that will make much difference because of increased pressure on the plant from new housing developments.

And she claimed the odour issue was becoming a more constant problem. "People aren’t using their gardens. There are new flats which have been built with lovely balconies but they can’t use them.

"And there’s a climate issue too – we’re getting more rain and flooding and also more warm weather, but this is an old plant that was never built to cope with the kind of climate we have now.

“The scandal of not using the cash stash of £391m to fully resolve the problem of the Seafield stench just stinks. Less than a third of this is what is needed to meet the demands of local residents and fully resolve the problem.

"Huge growth and development of housing in the area means an ever increasing number affected. In power since 2007, the SNP Scottish Government has still not solved this problem despite a promise made then to do so.

"Kicking it into the long grass until 2030 is not good enough when the money is there. I call on local MSP and Scottish Government Minister Ben Macpherson to use his position to make this happen. The money is there all that’s needed is the will to make it happen."

Scottish Water rejected Ms Faccenda’s call.

A spokeswoman said: “We are committed to continuing to invest in Seafield have already announced a £10 million plan to improve sludge storage to help reduce odour. This follows a review of treatment capacity in the area which established Seafield and Newbridge waste water treatment works can accommodate forecast growth in the region until at least 2029. This will be followed by another review of further investment required at Seafield which we will liaise with the community on.

“The cash balances within Scottish Water on March 31, 2020 of £391.4 million will be used significantly over the year to March 2021 as part of an agreed delivery plan for investment commitments across Scotland initiated during the current seven-year financial period and also in dealing with the impact of the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic.”

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