South East Water chair resigns after critical report

The chair of South East Water (SEW) has resigned following a damning report into major supply issues that left tens of thousands of homes without drinking water.

Independent non-executive chair Chris Train stepped down on Friday after the report described the firm's leadership as an "unaccountable clique".

SEW said new leadership was needed to "oversee a critical period of positive, transformative change for the company".

It comes as a cross-party group of MPs say they have no confidence in SEW bosses following a series of major supply outages.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said SEW's chief executive David Hinton and board had not addressed "multiple and ongoing failures".

Some 24,000 customers in Kent and East Sussex faced supply disruption in November and December - and weeks later up to 30,000 households faced days of water chaos.

Calls have also been made for Hinton, who was awarded a £115,000 bonus last year on top of his £400,000 salary, to quit.

• Watch: South East Water Crisis Special

Lisa Clement, interim SEW independent non-executive chair, said the company's focus remained on delivering changes to strengthen network resilience and benefit customers and communities.

Train joined SEW in 2022, announcing at the time the company was planning to "further improve customer satisfaction levels".

He has more than 38 years' experience in the energy, utilities, regulation and infrastructure sectors, according to the government.

Julian Leefe-Griffiths, who owns the Tunbridge Wells Hotel and believes he lost more than £60,000 due to outages, says he likes people that stay and sort out problems.

But he added he was glad Train was gone.

"[SEW] are an utterly shambolic company delivering a truly appalling service," he told BBC Radio Kent's Dominic King.

Tunbridge Wells resident Daphne Pilcher added it was not fair that one person was "carrying the can".

"My objection was the overall lack of honesty... and personal greed [of SEW's leaders]."

In a highly critical report published on Friday, MPs accused SEW of poor leadership, weak governance and a culture where nobody was held accountable.

Environment secretary Emma Reynolds said she welcomed Train's resignation.

"The company must now put strong new leadership in place to rebuild trust with customers and protect the environment," she continued.

The committee said it had taken the "unusual but necessary step" of declaring no confidence in the company's bosses because of the seriousness of the failures.

The report said while select committees do not normally focus on the leadership of individual private companies, MPs felt compelled to act because SEW appeared "shielded from the consequences of its incompetence".

Responding to the report, SEW said it planned to double investment in its supply network over the next five years.

It apologised to customers for the disruptions and the "resulting loss of public trust in the company".

Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin said the report "confirms that SEW poses a clear and present danger to public health".

"It's not if there will be another water crisis, but when," he told the BBC.

Martin added that he hoped the government used the report to demand change and "make clear that the leadership and board have to go".

"If not now, when?," he questioned.

Bills for SEW customers increased by 7% from April, bringing the average yearly bill to £324 for 2026/27 - up from £303 the year before.

The report follows two parliamentary hearings into an outage at the Pembury Treatment Works in late 2025, which left tens of thousands of homes, schools, GP surgeries and care settings in the Tunbridge Wells area without clean water for up to two weeks.

Committee chairman Alistair Carmichael said: "One cannot overstate the dangers of so many communities losing water supply for extended periods."

The committee also urged SEW shareholders, including the Utilities Trust of Australia, NatWest Group pension fund and Desjardins Group, to act.

MPs said SEW failed to properly maintain infrastructure, prepare for extreme weather and support vulnerable customers during outages.

In one of the report's strongest criticisms, the committee said: "A company described by its leadership as having a 'family feel' is perhaps better described as an unaccountable clique."

The report also criticised the company's communication during the Tunbridge Wells incident, including incorrect information about bottled water stations.

Regulator Ofwat said SEW had one of the worst records in the industry for supply interruptions over the last decade.

Ofwat is consulting on a proposed fine of up to £22.46m over failures linked to the Tunbridge Wells incident.

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