shirley high street Archives

Southampton Test MP Satvir Kaur last night brought together Southern Water and businesses from Shirley High Street to discuss the impact months of major sewer repair works have had on trading.

The meeting, hosted by Satvir Kaur MP at St Boniface Church Hall on Tuesday evening, saw businesses raise questions directly with senior staff from Southern Water and contractor Cappagh Browne.

Representatives from a total of 21 local businesses attended, including The Temple Bar, Make it Magic and The Salisbury Arms.

Southern Water began emergency repair works on Shirley High Street in April after a sewer collapsed, with the works causing disruption to access and traffic in the area, and local businesses reporting substantial impacts on trade and takings during the months-long duration. The works are now complete, and the section of the High Street affected was fully reopened to traffic last week.

In the last couple of days, I’ve written to the Chief Executive of Southern Water on two occasions, about two separate issues in Southampton.

Firstly, I wrote regarding the ‘screening application’ published on Southampton City Council’s Planning Portal yesterday, concerning upgrades to Southern Water’s Portswood Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Local residents are rightly concerned about the impact the upgrade works might have on their community, and so I have requested a meeting with Southern Water to discuss how construction will affect people living close by – in St Denys, particularly on Kent Road – and to find out what they will do to mitigate any adverse impact.