The under-fire boss of a water company says he can turn things around, even as he resists calls to resign, skips meetings and eyes a £400,000 bonus.
David Hinton, South East Water’s (SEW) chief executive, has been thrust into the limelight after thousands of homes in West Kent went without water for days.
However, in the face of mounting pressure, Mr Hinton says he is “really keen” to play his part in improving the company’s infrastructure.
In a BBC interview, he said: “We have been putting the plan in place over the last few years, and some solutions are coming soon, including to the Maidstone area in the next few weeks, and these will make a difference.
“We are also finalising plans to transfer water from the Bewl reservoir to Tunbridge Wells to help supplies there.
“Whoever is in the leadership team at South East Water – that plan still needs to get delivered.
“It is definitely the right plan, and what’s important is that we focus on delivering that plan.”
It is the latest update in what has been a difficult few months for Mr Hinton and South East Water.
24,000 households in Tunbridge Wells were left without access to drinking water for 14 days after problems started at Pembury Treatment Works on November 29.
Mr Hinton gave his company an eight out of ten score for how it handled the situation when grilled by ministers at the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA).
Then, less than a month later, on January 6, a second major water outage began, lasting until January 16, when water was finally restored to the remaining 6,500 properties that had been affected.
Ofwat has already announced an investigation into South East Water’s handling of the water outage.
He was due to present an update on supply issues in Tunbridge Wells during a council meeting on Monday (January 26).
But he pulled out, saying the meeting was “happening too soon” for him to be able to give the committee “the answers they understandably want”.
Mr Hinton told KentOnline that SEW is “fully committed” to attending a meeting before the committee, but asked for it to be postponed by one month while it completes its internal investigation.
However, the poor performance will not stop him from receiving a six-figure sum if he can remain in his role for four more years.
If he avoids the sack until July 2030, he will be rewarded a staggering £400,000, regardless of his performance, due to a long-term “service award”.
Mr Hinton has been at the helm of the company since 2020 but recent shortages in November and January have seen him hauled before the EFRA committee in Parliament.
Several MPs have called for the chief executive to refuse his financial bonus for the financial year.
It has been revealed that in the year to June 2025, Mr Hinton received £457,000, including £115,000.
Mr Hinton is set to earn more this year, despite the shambolic events around the county, due to a 30% increase – to £400,000 – as well as two new payments, meaning that he’s on track to earn £565,000.
The first payment is a “service award”, worth another £400,000 if Hinton stays until July 2030 – a rate of £80,000 a year. If he is still in the job, he will receive the first £80,000 in July 2028, the same amount the following July and another £240,000 in July 2030.
It was also revealed that Mr Hinton was given £50,000 by South East Water as a “cash allowance”.
SEW boss David Hinton, who is in line for a financial bonus, has faced repeated calls to resign over his handling of the water chaos.
Both Helen Whately (Con) and Mike Martin (Lib Dem) have written to South East Water’s investors asking them to intervene.
