Sunderland Council blocks bid for emergency vote on Triathlon scandal

Liberal Democrat councillors had called on the Chief Executive and Mayor of Sunderland to agree to an emergency meeting of all 75 councillors so they could debate the best way forward and vote on a plan to

• Provide an urgent update on whether the water off beaches in Sunderland is safe to swim in
• Start an independent Council-led testing process for assessing the water quality off Sunderland’s beaches.
• Commission a full independent investigation and survey of the sewage system and outflows into the River Wear and North Sea off Sunderland.

But the bid has been rejected, causing anger from opposition councillors on Wearside. Lib Dem spokesperson for Fulwell and Seaburn Miguel Smith commented: “It doesn’t matter which organisation is or isn’t responsible for water safety – the Council urgently needs to be leading from the front in trying to reassure the public that our seafront is safe to visit and safe for swimming.

“That’s why Lib Dems are calling for Council bosses to look at starting its own local water tests to give bathers the peace of mind they need – as well as conducting an independent survey of the sewage network so we know exactly where dumping of sewage into the River Wear and North Sea could be coming from. It is only with an independent survey that we can start solving the sewage problems for good.”

Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Sunderland City Council, Councillor Paul Edgeworth, said: “The City Council should have nothing to fear from having local people’s elected representatives discussing - in public - what needs to be done to restore Sunderland’s reputation which has been trashed in the national media in recent weeks as a result of this Triathlon scandal.

“If we are to avoid further damage to our reputation and local economy then councillors from all parties need to agree a credible way forward in the best interests of our city. Otherwise we risk Labour bosses who let the event go ahead in the first place taking decisions behind closed doors about how to clean up their own mess – with no transparency or scrutiny.”