Information events for the proposed Par desalination plant welcomed over 250 local people last week.

South West Water’s Phase One plans were revealed at events in venues in Par, Lostwithiel and St Blazey, with personnel from the utility company in attendance. Two further sessions took place online.

The desalination plant is part of South West Water’s plans for improving water resilience across the region. The first phase of development will see a temporary plant built on Par Harbour, capable of producing 2.5 million litres of water per day when operational.

It will involve installing 13.2 km of pipeline from Par to Restormel Treatment Works, with a 40m wide access strip to facilitate trenching. Locals have expressed concern this will cause damage to farmland, ancient woodland and Cornish hedges.

A South West Water spokesperson said the informal drop-in format had allowed customers to have face-to-face conversations with project specialists in the areas that interested them most.

He added that since December, the number of in-person events had increased, as well as the number of staff present, along with the addition of detailed maps on key topics including the marine environment and the terrestrial pipeline.

“We were pleased to engage with 258 customers earlier this month,” he said. “We thank everyone who attended these events, and for both the positive and constructive feedback we received.

“We are developing our project with the community and local customers in mind, addressing concerns and taking on board feedback where possible.”   

However, those opposing the plant condemned the consultation process as “flawed”.

Deborah Hazeldean, councillor for Tywardreath and Par, said many people felt the exhibition was too “informal”, and that South West Water staff wore badges with no job titles or full names.

“There is a prescribed format for public consultations on issues such as this and South West Water are falling short of what is a reasonable expectation for something of such significance,” she said.

“I would have expected a formal presentation with a question-and-answer session to make sure everyone was fully aware of all the issues involved and that public concerns were recorded.

“People deserve to be informed and to feel confident their views have been noted and listened to. The recent information sessions simply don’t fulfil these criteria.”

The events were held as the Environment Agency named South West Water “the worst performing company for pollution incidents in the Environmental Performance Assessment’s 13-year history”.

It was one of five water companies given a two-star rating, meaning it requires improvement, and scored red for total pollution incidents for the 13th year running, with 194 pollution incidents in total (111 incidents per 10,000km of sewer).