Water firms in England urged to upgrade sewage works for new homes

Campaigners in Oxfordshire, Cotwolds and Cumbria say houses should not be occupied until systems can cope

Campaigners are intervening to prevent new houses being occupied in several areas of England until sewage treatment works are upgraded to cope.

In Oxfordshire, the Cotswolds and in Cumbria, the failure of water companies to invest in sewage infrastructure means new homes would just add more sewage into treatment works that are at or beyond capacity, and increase pollution into rivers, they say.