Wetherby Green councillor challenges plans to scrap watchdog that exposed Yorkshire Water's pollution failures

Leeds City Councillor Penny Stables has challenged Wetherby MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke to explain how rivers, homes and communities will be protected under Conservative plans to abolish the Environment Agency.

The challenge comes just days after the Environment Agency gave Yorkshire Water its lowest possible environmental rating, recording 335 pollution incidents in 2025, including 13 serious incidents.

The Greens say the findings demonstrate the importance of independent environmental scrutiny at a time when the Conservatives are proposing to dismantle the agency responsible for it.

At their October conference, the Conservatives announced plans to abolish the Environment Agency and Natural England, transferring some responsibilities to Defra and proposing a new Environmental Crime and Enforcement Authority.

But Coun Stables says questions remain about how environmental monitoring, flood protection and enforcement would operate under the new arrangements.

Coun Stables, who represents Wetherby on Leeds City Council, said: “The Environment Agency has just exposed the shocking scale of Yorkshire Water's environmental failures, giving it the lowest possible rating.

"That demonstrates exactly why we need an independent watchdog with the powers and resources to hold water companies to account.

“Just when the Environment Agency is showing how important its role is, the Conservatives want to abolish it.

"Surely the answer to environmental failure is stronger scrutiny and enforcement, not putting those protections in doubt.

“The River Wharfe is at the heart of Wetherby, but this issue goes far beyond one river or one community.

"Across Leeds and Yorkshire, people rely on the Environment Agency to help protect their rivers, homes and countryside from pollution, flooding and inappropriate development.

“With growing pressures for new development, the Environment Agency's expertise and its ability to challenge proposals that present unacceptable flood risks are particularly important.

"We have seen the value of those safeguards in planning decisions affecting Wetherby and the wider Wharfe corridor.

“Who will be able to challenge developments when flood risks are unacceptable? Who will monitor pollution and publish the evidence when water companies fail?

"These are not responsibilities that can simply disappear in a government reorganisation.”

Coun Stables has written to Sir Alec Shelbrooke asking him to seek clarification from his party's environment team about what would replace the Environment Agency's statutory duties, monitoring responsibilities, flood-risk functions and enforcement powers.

She added: “I am not opposed to reform. The Environment Agency is far from perfect, and if the Conservatives can demonstrate that their proposals would deliver stronger protection for our rivers, homes and countryside, I would welcome that.

“But residents deserve to know whether the safeguards they currently rely on would be strengthened, weakened or lost altogether."

Sir Alec Shelbrooke MP told the Wetherby News: "We need a more efficient, accountable and effective approach to environmental protection, rather than the current system of bureaucracy and regulation that too often fails to deliver the outcomes people expect.

"Across Wetherby and our local villages, it is essential that flood risk management, protection of our waterways and action against pollution remain priorities. 

"The proposed reforms offer an opportunity to strengthen these protections, ensure resources are properly focused and make those responsible for environmental failures more accountable.

"Abolishing the current structure is not about weakening environmental protection; it is about delivering them better.

"These changes would be a positive step towards a system that works for local communities, farmers and businesses alike."