Healthy Rivers and Seas Summit

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Healthy Rivers and Seas Summit

The Healthy Rivers and Seas Summit, convened by Cllr Leigh Frost Leader of Cornwall Council, was held on 27 February 2024. The Summit brought together the authorities, agencies and organisations involved in water quality, with the ability to identify and deliver solutions to the ongoing issues Cornwall is dealing with.

*We apologise for the poor sound of the live stream recording, we had technical issues on the day. We hope you can still hear the majority of the discussion. Unfortunately we weren't able to show or record the first part of the Summit, which was a presentation from Mark Rice of the EA - we have shared Mark's presentation above.

Cllr Leigh Frost, Leader of Cornwall Council, convened the Summit.
Leigh said: "The health of our ocean and rivers is a complex issue that requires collective action and personal responsibility. Cornwall Council can have a far bigger impact - beyond the reactive legal powers we have - acting as a convener, bringing together all the agencies and organisations involved in understanding the problems and identifying and putting solutions into action. We can also ensure residents’ concerns are heard."

Background to the Summit
Cornwall Council passed a motion 'Working to End the Sewage Scandal' in September 2025, calling for urgent action to tackle sewage pollution in the region’s rivers and beaches. The motion commits the Council to work with South West Water and other stakeholders, including through a Summit, to address repeated pollution incidents.

Summit intentions
The Summit explained how organisations are working to tackle pollution in Cornwall’s rivers and beaches, acknowledging that water health and quality is complex and requires collective action and personal responsibility. It was evidence-led, briefly addressing the current state of water in Cornwall, looking at trends and challenges including sewage discharges, land management, and urban runoff.

The Summit was intended as the start of an ongoing conversation between partners and key stakeholders, leading to initiatives that will help address water quality and quantity aimed at improving the health of our rivers and seas - including some of the ongoing issues being experienced in Cornish towns and villages after the recent heavy rainfall.

Summit Chair / MC
The event was chaired by Julie Skentelbery, from BBC Radio Cornwall. Julie took questions from the invited audience for the Panel to respond to and discuss, as well as questions from residents to ensure their concerns are being heard.

Summit Panel
The Summit Panel brought together a group of representatives of stakeholder organisations, involved in water quality, to discuss and work together to improve water quality across Cornwall.

Cllr Leigh Frost, Leader of Cornwall Council, convened the Summit.

The Panellists were:

  • Cornwall Council: Cllr Loic Rich, Lead Member for Climate Change and Environment
  • South West Water (SWW): Carolyn Cadman, Chief Sustainability and Natural Resources Officer
  • Environment Agency (EA): Mark Rice, Area Director for Devon and Cornwall
  • Cornwall NFU Cornwall: Jon Perry
  • Country Land & Business Association (CLA): Victoria Vyvyan, Deputy President
  • Marine and Coastal Partnership: Claire Eatock, Chair
  • Surfers Against Sewage (SAS): Giles Bristow, CEO
  • Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT): Laurence Couldrick, CEO
  • Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT): Matt Walpole, CEO - unfortunately Matt was unable to attend.

Invited Audience
The Panel heard about and discuss the causes and possible solutions with an invited audience of key stakeholders. The expectation is that the Summit will not end as a one-off conversation but will result in collective and tangible actions from the organisations involved in the solutions.

Summit Workshop
Immediately following the Summit, the Panellists and expert advisors took part in a workshop co-chaired by Lord Matthew Taylor, Chair of the CIOS Local Nature Partnership (LNP), and Phil Mason, Cornwall Council Strategic Director for Sustainable Growth and Place.

The Workshop picked up the themes, issues and opportunities raised during the Summit and are already informing our collective next steps. Our Environment Service is developing a draft Healthy Rivers and Seas Summit Action Plan, drawing together the key points from the workshop to shape our collective local response.

You can view the summary of the questions and answers from the Summit and we will share the agreed actions from the Panel's workshop soon.

Thank you
We are very grateful to our Panelists and invited audience for taking part in the Healthy Rivers and Seas Summit. We would like to thank everyone who submitted a question for the Panel and to everyone who watched online.

Healthy Rivers and Seas Summit

The Healthy Rivers and Seas Summit, convened by Cllr Leigh Frost Leader of Cornwall Council, was held on 27 February 2024. The Summit brought together the authorities, agencies and organisations involved in water quality, with the ability to identify and deliver solutions to the ongoing issues Cornwall is dealing with.

*We apologise for the poor sound of the live stream recording, we had technical issues on the day. We hope you can still hear the majority of the discussion. Unfortunately we weren't able to show or record the first part of the Summit, which was a presentation from Mark Rice of the EA - we have shared Mark's presentation above.

Cllr Leigh Frost, Leader of Cornwall Council, convened the Summit.
Leigh said: "The health of our ocean and rivers is a complex issue that requires collective action and personal responsibility. Cornwall Council can have a far bigger impact - beyond the reactive legal powers we have - acting as a convener, bringing together all the agencies and organisations involved in understanding the problems and identifying and putting solutions into action. We can also ensure residents’ concerns are heard."

Background to the Summit
Cornwall Council passed a motion 'Working to End the Sewage Scandal' in September 2025, calling for urgent action to tackle sewage pollution in the region’s rivers and beaches. The motion commits the Council to work with South West Water and other stakeholders, including through a Summit, to address repeated pollution incidents.

Summit intentions
The Summit explained how organisations are working to tackle pollution in Cornwall’s rivers and beaches, acknowledging that water health and quality is complex and requires collective action and personal responsibility. It was evidence-led, briefly addressing the current state of water in Cornwall, looking at trends and challenges including sewage discharges, land management, and urban runoff.

The Summit was intended as the start of an ongoing conversation between partners and key stakeholders, leading to initiatives that will help address water quality and quantity aimed at improving the health of our rivers and seas - including some of the ongoing issues being experienced in Cornish towns and villages after the recent heavy rainfall.

Summit Chair / MC
The event was chaired by Julie Skentelbery, from BBC Radio Cornwall. Julie took questions from the invited audience for the Panel to respond to and discuss, as well as questions from residents to ensure their concerns are being heard.

Summit Panel
The Summit Panel brought together a group of representatives of stakeholder organisations, involved in water quality, to discuss and work together to improve water quality across Cornwall.

Cllr Leigh Frost, Leader of Cornwall Council, convened the Summit.

The Panellists were:

  • Cornwall Council: Cllr Loic Rich, Lead Member for Climate Change and Environment
  • South West Water (SWW): Carolyn Cadman, Chief Sustainability and Natural Resources Officer
  • Environment Agency (EA): Mark Rice, Area Director for Devon and Cornwall
  • Cornwall NFU Cornwall: Jon Perry
  • Country Land & Business Association (CLA): Victoria Vyvyan, Deputy President
  • Marine and Coastal Partnership: Claire Eatock, Chair
  • Surfers Against Sewage (SAS): Giles Bristow, CEO
  • Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT): Laurence Couldrick, CEO
  • Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT): Matt Walpole, CEO - unfortunately Matt was unable to attend.

Invited Audience
The Panel heard about and discuss the causes and possible solutions with an invited audience of key stakeholders. The expectation is that the Summit will not end as a one-off conversation but will result in collective and tangible actions from the organisations involved in the solutions.

Summit Workshop
Immediately following the Summit, the Panellists and expert advisors took part in a workshop co-chaired by Lord Matthew Taylor, Chair of the CIOS Local Nature Partnership (LNP), and Phil Mason, Cornwall Council Strategic Director for Sustainable Growth and Place.

The Workshop picked up the themes, issues and opportunities raised during the Summit and are already informing our collective next steps. Our Environment Service is developing a draft Healthy Rivers and Seas Summit Action Plan, drawing together the key points from the workshop to shape our collective local response.

You can view the summary of the questions and answers from the Summit and we will share the agreed actions from the Panel's workshop soon.

Thank you
We are very grateful to our Panelists and invited audience for taking part in the Healthy Rivers and Seas Summit. We would like to thank everyone who submitted a question for the Panel and to everyone who watched online.

Page last updated: 14 Apr 2026, 05:29 PM