Cat Nab spillage: Concern at secrecy over major sewage spill on town beach

Coun Philip Thomson was commenting on the February 2022 spill at Cat Nab, in Saltburn, that required Redcar and Cleveland Council to pay out £418,493 to Northumbrian Water earlier this year to settle its repair costs.

The spill is believed to have happened after pipework was damaged during excavations for a council car park improvement scheme.

The events continue to be discussed behind closed doors at the council, with scrutiny committee members and ward councillors being briefed in recent months over a report into the incident.

The report, by council auditor Veritau, has never been fully released, while a promised report to the council’s cabinet is also yet to materialise.

A council spokeswoman confirmed the £418,493 payment and said the money was “paid from an insurance reserve held for claims”. Coun Thomson said: “This was one of the largest pollutant events in the area in recent memory.

"It has taken an inordinate amount of time to address this matter with all of its ramifications and the public are entitled to understand why this happened.”

The council had previously denied liability for the damage.

It is understood it continues to pursue a claim of its own against an external contractor involved in the car park scheme, which is yet to be resolved.

The council said it had relied on a project design drafted by the contractor with operatives damaging the pipe while foundations were drilled or bored into the ground.

The damage to the pipe caused part of the beach to be cordoned off, with sewage escaping into a beck and onto the beach.

It led to lengthy and complex engineering work being carried out by Northumbrian Water to stem the sewage flow and complete repairs.

After attempts were made by the Local Democracy Reporting Service to have the Veritau report released on public interest grounds, the council previously said: “Ultimately, it is considered that disclosure would severely prejudice the council in future legal action if [the] detail of investigations were made public.

“Whilst there is a public interest in knowing the detail of this matter, the public interest in the minutiae is not so high as to outweigh the prejudice which would be caused to the council, the third party contractor and, ultimately, the taxpayer.”

It added: “The outcome [of the investigation] will be reported to the cabinet in due course but, in the meantime, actions are being taken to avoid a similar incident occurring in the future.”

The council spokeswoman said the Veritau report was not deemed suitable for publication due to personal/third party data contained within it.

Coun Thomson had asked officers that the incident be discussed at a scrutiny committee he is a member of, which was agreed. But it has been deemed an exempt matter and thus not held in public session.