Tunbridge Wells businesses ‘potentially lost £8m’ in water crisis

A Kent businessman has said hospitality businesses in Tunbridge Wells have “potentially lost £7m to £8m” as a result of the major water disruption in parts of Kent and East Sussex which lasted more than a week.

It comes as MPs have urged South East Water (SEW) boss David Hinton to account for the company’s handling of the water crisis at a public evidence session due to take place on 6 January 2026.

Tudor Price, chief executive of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, told the BBC the losses were “staggering” and “appalling”.

Matthew Dean, SEW incident manager, said: “We are fully committed to compensating our customers and businesses fairly for this disruption.

“We want to ensure every customer and business receives exactly what they are entitled to.”

Ed Konti, who owns Bella Capri in Mount Pleasant Road, said if the boiled water notice was not lifted soon he would be out of business.

He was also concerned that even when the boiled water notice was lifted, “people may be too scared” to eat at restaurants.

SEW issued a boiled water notice on 3 December.

In the company’s latest update on Wednesday, SEW said the boil water notice remained in place “until further notice”.

SEW had initially said the notice would be in force for 10 days.

Ruby Reed, who runs The Bedford pub in the High Street, said she believed the boiled water notice was “putting off customers”.

“We have lost about £9,000, and this includes staff costs,” she said.

“Staff are relying on this money as it’s right before Christmas.”

Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells Mike Martin had previously proposed a “Covid-style” compensation scheme for businesses.

He said: “The question is, are the sums businesses going to get from SEW going to match the losses?

“We have had a lot of support from the Minister of Water Emma Hardy.

“She’s made it clear to SEW that businesses should be compensated above the statutory minimum. That’s what we’re pushing for.”

Jemma Fairclough-Haynes, south east regional chairperson of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Workers on zero-hour contracts, as it stands, won’t be able to claim money back for being unable to do their shifts.”

She added those on permanent contracts may be able to claim money back.

While the boiled water notice is still in place, SEW said the water was “chemically safe” and contained “no bacterial contaminants”.

The company said the water could be used for flushing toilets or showering, but crucially could not be used for drinking, cooking or washing up without boiling and letting it cool first.

However, some customers have reported there were delays in receiving their boiled water notice through the post.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said it was a “very busy period in the run-up to Christmas” and that “the overwhelming majority of First Class mail continues to arrive on time”.

“We take any reports of delay seriously and will raise and investigate this with the local delivery office,” the spokesperson added.

The company said on Wednesday that since the start of the incident it had delivered more than “28,000 bottled water to customers who are registered on its Priority Services Register”.

It added its bottled water stations would remain open until 22:00 GMT on Wednesday:

• Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, St John’s Rd, Royal Tunbridge Wells, TN4 9TX

• Odeon car park, Knights Way, TN2 3UW

• B&M Store with Garden Centre, Linden Park Road, Kent TN2 5QL