In need of a clean-up: there’s evidence of sewage being released along the waterways of South Norwood Country Park – which is a nature reserve
Sluggish council has finally acted to clean up local streams that have been turned into ‘sludge’ by sewage pollution
After a five-year campaign by residents and environmentalists, backed by their Labour councillors and MP, Croydon Council has finally confirmed that works to repair a source of sewage pollution flowing into South Norwood Country Park have begun, and are expected to be completed by the end of next week.
The country park is 125-acre wetlands reserve known to be home to many species of bird, and featuring a large lake and several watercourses.
Thousands signed a petition to Croydon Council in 2023, when Mayor Jason Perry committed to engaging with residents about the future of the Visitors Centre (which had been subject to arson during lockdown in 2020 and has never re-opened) and the need for dedicated action to protect the space from degrading further.
But the park has continued to be affected by vandalism, fly-tipping and sewage pollution, some of it traced to a Thames Water pumping station located within the park.
When the area experiences heavy rainfall, the outdated sewer network gets inundated with rainwater. To prevent sewage from backing up into people’s homes, Thames Water routinely discharges a mix of rainwater and untreated sewage via storm overflows directly into the Chaffinch Brook in the park.
From sewage farm to sanctuary: South Norwood Country Park is an example of how a large area in the middle of a built-up borough can be reclaimed. But the cash-strapped council’s neglect has put that at risk
Promised repair works have gone years overdue.
Untreated sewage was flushed into Chaffinch Brook 20 times in 2021, with residents complaining that the stream smelt like drains, with wet wipes – and worse – lining the banks where children would often play.
Since taking office in 2024 as MP for Croydon East, Labour’s Natasha Irons has continued to campaign to identify the source of the pollution, establish who was responsible for fixing it and push the relevant authorities to act.
In 2024, Thames Water identified another source of contamination as a block of eight flats on Cargreen Road, which runs from Norwood Junction Station to the country park.
In January 2025, Irons challenged Croydon Council’s lame claim that they had no enforcement powers. The MP established that responsibility lay with the building owner and with… Croydon Council!
In April last year, Woodside ward’s Labour councillors Amy Foster and Brigitte Graham pubiished an open letter, challenging Mayor Perry to take action.
In the letter, the councillors sought “a commitment to enforcement action on the developer responsible for the sewage leak into the Harrington Road stream”.
They added: “We have raised these issues over the years since we were elected and are frustrated by what we see as stalled progress… We are asking for an urgent response to this letter so we can reassure residents in Woodside and across Croydon that this unique reserve has not been forgotten.”
Campaign success: MP Natasha Irons, Labour councillors and residents have spent years getting the council to do its job
In the year and a half since, MP Irons and her constituency office have maintained pressure through regular meetings with Croydon Council, Thames Water and the housing association “to ensure progress did not stall”.
By the end of last year, Thames Water was reporting that it had found 241 appliances misconnected to the wastewater system across 16 polluting properties along Cargreen Road —including the block of eight flats managed by Hyde Housing.
Much of this was blamed on the developer, who has since gone into administration, incorrectly cross-connecting the plumbing systems of the properties. Instead of routing the foul sewage pipes to the main wastewater treatment system, they connected toilets and appliances directly to the surface water drains. The works had been subject to poor, or no, building controls by the council.
This week, Croydon Council finally confirmed that works to repair the foul sewer are expected to be completed by October 23.
“When I was first elected, it was clear that no one wanted to take responsibility for the pollution or even to investigate the source,” Irons told Inside Croydon.
“I didn’t want residents to be let down by the council once again.
“We’re going to continue monitoring the repair works until the water is clean and the nature reserve is properly protected.”
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Councillor Foster said: “It’s been heart breaking to see the stream decline in the years I’ve lived in South Norwood. My children used to splash and play in it, and now it’s filled with sludge.
“What should have been addressed much sooner has instead been a prolonged battle to get the council to act. I hope that these works will lead to visible improvements over coming months and residents can be even prouder of this beautiful nature reserve.”