Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon says Yorkshire Water chief 'should have stepped down much earlier'
“Nicola Shaw should have stepped down much earlier, instead of hanging on to receive the lowest possible Environment Agency rating”
The under-fire boss of Yorkshire Water has stepped down just one day after Harrogate’s MP joined others in slamming the utility company’s downgrading to a one-star environmental rating.
Chief Executive Nicola Shaw had led the business for four-and-a-half years, a time in which increasing numbers of Harrogate town’s politicians and community groups have heaped pressure on her to resign after a string of sewage discharges and pollution incidents, including the River Nidd in Knaresborough and several locations in Harrogate.
Speaking after the news that Yorkshire Water’s chief executive was to step down on January 1, 2027, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon said: “Nicola Shaw should have stepped down much earlier, instead of hanging on to receive the lowest possible Environment Agency rating.
“After the abysmal management of our precious natural resources while she received an eye-watering salary, if the Government had any sense, it would convert Yorkshire Water into a public benefit company, legally required to prioritise environmental goals and reduce leaks.”
Shaw has faced criticism in recent years, including for taking £1.9m in undisclosed payments between 2023 and 2026, while the company has come under scrutiny for its performance.
She will be replaced by Nicola Medalova, a chartered environmental health officer who previously worked for the National Grid.
Ms Shaw said there “remains a huge amount of work to do”, but that the business is on “stronger footing for delivery across all aspects of its work”.
She added: “This now feels like the right time to begin an orderly transition to the company’s next chapter.”
On Thursday, the EA said it had downgraded Yorkshire Water’s environmental rating from two stars out of four to one – the lowest possible rating.
The company recorded tens of thousands of storm overflow discharges across its 631 wastewater treatment works,
But Yorkshire Water says it is investing £8.3 billion between 2025 and 2030 in the county water’s system, including £1.5bn to cut discharges from storm overflows.
It says it has already delivered 300 improvement schemes across the region so far.