Frome Valley Relief Sewer on TV

On Thursday local councillor Dave Hockey featured in a BBC Points West news story on the Frome Valley Relief Sewer - you can watch the extract here. Dave has been campaigning for the last two decades on this issue. Let's hope the new sewer will make a difference.

Frome Valley Relief Sewer work

After years of campaigning throughout the ‘noughties’ about sewage pollution spills in the River Frome resulting in sanitary towels, condoms and raw sewage being left stranded on the banks of the river in Frampton Cotterell Parish, Cllr Dave Hockey is delighted that Wessex Water are making good progress with the final stage of the Frome Valley Relief Sewer. The £15 million project will divert sewage from the rapidly growing Yate/Sodbury area via the new large pipe from Cog Mill, Iron Acton to Bradley Stoke on onwards from there to the Avonmouth Sewage Treatment Plant.

Dave said, “It took a 10 year campaign and a summit meeting hosted by former Lib Dem MP Steve Webb with Senior Executives of Wessex Water and the Environment Agency to get a commitment to take action on this serious pollution problem. Local residents were appalled by the sewage spills. It is great that action is now being taken to deal with the problem - let’s hope the new scheme is successful and will bring to an end sewage spills in the Frome Valley.”

Ten Year Campaign Success

After a 10 year campaign by Cllr Dave Hockey and Steve Webb MP there is good news in the battle to tackle the problem of sewage debris left stranded along the Frome Valley following heavy rain and flooding.

In December, Ofwat finally provided funding for Wessex Water to construct a 5km long sewer pipeline between Frampton Cotterell and Bradley Stoke to provide additional capacity for the new developments planned for Yate, Harry Stoke and Emerson's Green. It will enable flows from Yate to reach the sewage works at Avonmouth  via a more direct route and hence free up capacity in the existing sewer that runs along the Frome valley and through the city centre.

Wessex will shortly be writing to landowners with a leaflet to introduce them to the scheme. Environmental surveys will be carried out in 2015.  There is still much work to do to decide which is the optimal route for the pipe and how it will be constructed and construction is expected to start in 2017/18.

Sewage still getting into River Frome



Dave Hockey has been campaigning for over 10 years now to get Wessex Water to stop their sewage discharges into the River Frome.
Their first attempt about 6 years ago to install a fine mesh filter at a bend in the river near Cog Mill, Iron Acton failed completely and we continued to get sewage debris strewn over the river banks whenever floodwater subsided following heavy rainfall.

Wessex Water carried out a major multi million pound scheme last year next to the ford at Cog Mill on a straight part of the river. As the picture on the right shows, that has clearly also failed to stop the problem.

Local residents are horrified that in 2013 they still have to suffer this appalling problem along our much loved and used Frome Valley Walkway. Dave Hockey will be asking Wessex Water what they are going to do now to fix the problem.

Wessex Water installing holding tank

Wessex Water are making progress with installing the holding tank to the south of the Badminton Road viaduct, which the planning committee approved earlier this year. The tank is intended to stop sewage flooding in houses in Vicarage Road. It is not related to Barratt Homes' proposals for Woodlands Farm.

Reducing sewage spills in the Frome Valley

After more than 15 years campaigning, Dave Hockey is delighted that Wessex Water are at last installing a very large screening system which hopefully will  eliminate the solid sewage waste discharged into the River Frome following heavy rainfall.


The major scheme at Cog Mill, Iron Acton is well under way. Wessex Water state that work should be completed on site by August when the Frome Valley Walkway will be reinstated along the riverside.


Dave Hockey said, “After years of suffering from sanitary towels, condoms and other sewage waste left stranded on the Glebe Land and along the banks of the River Frome after floodwaters have subsided, I hope that this second scheme is more effective than the first – we’ll watch the results with great interest.”