Green councillors on Bradford Council have condemned Yorkshire Water’s decision to impose a hosepipe ban, branding it a direct result of years of mismanagement, ignored repairs and financial priorities that have left the region vulnerable.
The hosepipe ban was announced earlier this month (8 July) and came into force on Friday 11 July.
Green councillors say it is unacceptable for residents to be told to cut back on water use while the company continues to waste millions of litres every day through leaks, many of which it has failed to fix for years, and at the same time pays out huge sums to its overseas shareholders.
“This hosepipe ban is the consequence of Yorkshire Water’s own failure to look after its network. As a local councillor, I’ve lost count of the number of times residents have told me that reported leaks and other issues are left for months, sometimes years,” said Councillor Matt Edwards (Tong), the leader of the Greens on Bradford Council.
“Now for them to tell people to limit their water use, while they’ve massively hiked bills and paid out millions in dividends and bonuses, is frankly insulting. It shows exactly where their priorities lie, and it isn’t with the communities they serve.”
Since the introduction of the ban, the company has announced that there has been a 52% increase in leaks being reported.
Councillor Ros Brown (Ilkley), Deputy Leader of the Green group on Bradford Council, highlighted how the company’s pledge earlier this year to invest £16 million in reducing leakage is small compared to what it has paid out in bonuses and dividends.
“Yorkshire Water has had years to deal with these issues but has chosen to prioritise funnelling money to its big business backers. Now they want us to pay more to fix the mess they created. We need a water system that’s run properly, invests in fixing its problems, and plans for the future, not one that rewards shareholders while ignoring its leaking pipes,” said Councillor Brown.
Yorkshire Water announced that water bills across the region will increase by 29% in 2025-26 claiming this was needed to pay for essential repairs . However research last year showed that dividend payments and debt repayments accounted for roughly a third of the bill paid by a typical household to Yorkshire Water.
Councillor Brown added: “The UK has just had one of the driest and warmest springs in over a century, and extreme weather is becoming the new normal. The current system isn’t working. The last Conservative government buried their heads in the sand and now is the time for the Labour government to step up and end this broken model and run water services for the benefit of the public.
“We need more investment in maintaining pipes and reservoirs now to make sure we have enough water during hot summers in the future.”
The Green Party is calling for urgent action to tackle leaks, stricter regulation of private water companies, and long-term reforms to bring essential utilities back into public hands.