United Utilities is among several water firms said to be facing legal action over claims it “underreported” incidents of sewage pollution.
The firm – which provides water and wastewater services right across the North West of England – joins five other water companies, Severn Trent Water, Thames Water, Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water, and Northumbrian Water, in potentially being taken to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
As well as the claims of “underreporting” of sewage pollution incidents, the six water firms have also been accused of overcharging customers.
The water companies – which are the six biggest in England – could end up paying over £800 million in compensation to more than 20 million customers nationwide, if the cases are successful.
The claims are being brought by Professor Carolyn Roberts, an environmental and water consultant represented by Leigh Day Solicitors, who is alleging that water companies have broken competition laws by misleading both the Environment Agency, and the regulator Ofwat – adding that the “underreporting” of the number of sewage discharges has resulting in customers being “unfairly overcharged” for wastewater services.
ADVERTISEMENT
Professor Roberts is also claiming that, had sewage discharge reporting been “accurate”, it would have lowered customers’ bills.
United Utilities facing legal action over claims it ‘underreported’ sewage pollution / Credit: Cristi Ursea | Silvan Schuppisser (via Unsplash)
Today’s claims against United Utilities and the five other major water companies follows claims from campaigners that the River Severn is the most polluted in the UK, who also estimated that waste was pumped into the waterway on 2,600 separate occasions in 2021, Sky News reports.
ADVERTISEMENT
The claims also follow growing public anger over sewage being pumped into Britain’s rivers and seas.
The public’s backlash to this is what prompted industry body, Water UK, to issue an unprecedented public apology earlier this year for not acting quickly enough on spills, and also lead the organisation’s chair Ruth Kelly to admitting that campaigners were “right to be upset” about the current quality of rivers and beaches.
This time around though, however, Water UK has described Professor Roberts’s legal action as “highly speculative” and “entirely without merit”.
ADVERTISEMENT
BREAKING: first environmental competition class action case launched on behalf of millions of UK customers overcharged by water companies. Read the full story here: https://t.co/fcynt6nnW7https://t.co/A6rNayWLEk
A spokesperson for the organisation said: “This highly speculative claim is entirely without merit. The regulator has confirmed that over 99% of sewage works comply with their legal requirements [and] if companies fail to deliver on their commitments, then customer bills are already adjusted accordingly.”
Zoe Mernick-Levene, who is a partner at Leigh Day Solicitors, argued on the contrary that these claims are “hugely significant”.
She continued: ‘Not only is compensation being sought for millions of customers who have and continue to pay higher water bills, but we hope that it will also send a message to water companies that they cannot unlawfully pollute waterways and mislead their regulators without consequence.
“Customers put their trust in water companies, believing that they are correctly reporting these spillages and appropriately treating the sewage so it can safely be returned to the environment.
“Instead, our client believes they are misleading their regulators and customers are overpaying while England’s waterways are suffering as a result.”
The claims are being brought on an opt-out basis, meaning all water bill payers are automatically a part of the case unless they actively choose not to be – but first, the Competition Appeal Tribunal will need to decide whether the claims can go ahead.
A ‘legacy walk’ in memory of the Joe Thompson is taking place across Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
The ‘Walk With Me for JT’, a.k.a Joe Thompson ‘Legacy Walk’, is back next month, and Greater Mancunians are being encouraged to take part.
Returning this year following his tragic passing last April, the now annual charity walk has already raised thousands for charity and is set for another big turnout.
Joe Thompson, an ex-Rochdale AFC and Bury FC player, sadly died at just 36 following a long battle with lymphoma, having been diagnosed three different times in 12 years.
While the young husband and father of two’s story is a heartbreaking one, it has also become a source of inspiration for so many across the North West and, indeed, across the UK, with people once again gearing up to complete a fundraising walk in his name.
Set to honour him by making the journey from his adopted home of Rochdale all the way to Old Trafford, with Thompson having come through Man United’s youth academy, the 15-mile trek will start at his former club’s Crown Oil Arena and stop at Bury’s Gigg Lane as well as Salford City’s Peninsula Stadium.
First held in 2024 under the ‘Walk With Me for JT’ banner, the initial legacy walk saw the Bath-born footballer and countless others complete 21 miles in an effort to raise money for treatment.
Gone but never forgotten, the charity walk survives not only in the hearts and souls of his family, friends and other people’s lives he touched, but in the community spirit that his struggle and immense bravery in the face of illness helped spur on throughout the region and beyond.
Writing on social media, the Thompson family and the Foundation in his memory said, “Last year, he walked beside us. This year, we walk for him. This isn’t just a walk… It’s a promise. A promise to carry his strength, his belief, his light forward.
For every family facing illness. For everyone experiencing loss or hardship. For anyone who needs hope right now. Every step matters. Every mile has meaning. Whether you’ve walked before or this is your first time. You won’t walk alone.”
Join the annual Joe Thompson legacy walk on Saturday 2nd May 💙
Departing from the Crown Oil Arena, the 15-mile walk will finish at Manchester United's Old Trafford 🏟️
They signed off by adding: “Be part of something bigger. Be part of Joe’s legacy. Be part of the movement. Get a team together, invite your friends, colleagues and family and let’s raise funds to support The Joe Thompson Foundation.”
With the event beginning at 11am on Saturday, 2 May, there have already been numerous sign-ups, and you can expect even more to lace up their shoes and pay tribute to a local hero.
If you want to join in the effort and help do your bit, you can register for the 2026 Joe Thompson Legacy Walk right HERE.
Manchester rent is now ‘41% more expensive than five years ago, according to a recent study
Danny Jones
Yes, that’s right, as per some of the latest data on leased housing in central Manchester, it’s now approximately 41% more expensive to rent here than it was half a decade ago.
If you’ve lived in and around the city centre for long enough, chances are that you’ve already been feeling that difference, especially of late.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis roughly began in 2021, following the economy and the world essentially opening back up after multiple lockdowns, so it’s little surprise that new research has shown affordability when it comes to renting has been on a slump ever since, too.
As well as the price of seemingly most things in everyday life going up post-pandemic, the average rental rate for even just a one-bedroom flat/apartment has jumped up significantly between 2020 and 2025.
Even some ‘available’ housing in town is being hampered by claddin (Credit: Valienne via WikiCommons)
That’s according to the numbers crunched by credit card experts, Zable, anyway.
Not only did their recent report cite the rent prices going up even before the cost of living crisis – essentially following the outset of the Covid-19 outbreak – but if their figures, the rate of inflation and the unwaveringly high demand for housing are anything to go by, this trajectory is likely to continue in 2026.
As of February this year, around one in three UK households is now a single-person occupancy, which already comes with its challenges (the Manchester City Council tax discount being a thin lifeline for countless), not to mention energy bills and the cost of groceries continuing on an upwards trend.
Put in the simplest and most reductive terms, it’s now almost £300 dearer for most people to live on their own than it was back in 2020, and besides Liverpool clocking in as second on the list of increasingly expensive cities to live (a 42.12% increase), Manchester came in third.
You can see the full table down below:
Rank
City
% increase – 2020-2025
Difference from 2020 to 2025 in £
Average rental cost for a 1 bed 2025
1
Newport
47.39%
£2,611
£8,121
2
Liverpool
42.12%
£2,290
£7,727
3
Manchester
41.00%
£3,364
£11,569
4
Edinburgh
40.28%
£4,620
£16,090
5
Leicester
39.93%
£2,391
£8,379
6
Wolverhampton
39.22%
£2,049
£7,273
7
Nottingham
39.07%
£2,400
£8,543
8
Glasgow
38.02%
£2,679
£9,725
9
Colchester
37.63%
£2,617
£9,572
10
Cardiff
37.06%
£2,828
Average rental cost for a 1-bed 2025
Another fear is that with lots of people finding it hard to manage living in other major cities like London, even those moving to Manchester are also having an impact on how available affordable housing is here.
That’s why schemes such as the new ‘social rent’ development over in Wythenshawe are so important to the current generations of renters, with the possibility of owning your own property in the future becoming increasingly difficult for so many.
It’s also worth noting that Manchester ranked fourth among the British locations where the cost of living is said to have increased the most over the past five years, with the average difference in annual spend growing by an estimated 22.84%.
Emily Sergeant -
9th August 2023 
