Friends of Bewl Water is sharing the public webcast and transcript of the Wealden District Council Scrutiny Committee meeting at which South East Water was questioned by councillors about water supply resilience, infrastructure investment and environmental impacts.

The discussion is directly relevant to Bewl Water as a major surface reservoir with important community, recreational and environmental value.







Key statement on Bewl Water


During the meeting, David Hinton, then Chief Executive of South East Water, made the following statement about surface reservoirs and Bewl Water in particular:


*“We absolutely love our surface reservoirs. The community value they provide is enormous…


We really value Bewl as a local amenity and we would not do anything to harm that local amenity.


It’s fantastic. It’s great for people.”*


— David Hinton, Chief Executive, South East Water

(Scrutiny Committee meeting, approx. 01:19:50 – 01:20:12)


He went on to emphasise the importance of working with local communities and groups to ensure that both amenity and nature value are protected alongside water security.


Why FoBW is sharing this


Bewl Water is recognised not just as a strategic water resource, but also a valued place for nature, recreation and community use.


▶️ Watch the webcast