Yorkshire Water chief executive Nicola Shaw resigns after company's environmental rating is downgraded

Resignation a day after the rating downgrade

Yorkshire Water chief executive Nicola Shaw has announced she is stepping down from the post she has held since 2022 — exactly one day after the Environment Agency (EA) gave the company the lowest rating: one star out of four, meaning the status of a 'poorly performing company'. This was reported by BBC News. Shaw will leave the position on 1 January, and her successor will be Nicola Medlova, a chartered environmental health specialist who previously worked at National Grid. Medlova will start work on Monday as part of a transition period.

The company's performance and past scandals

According to the EA, Yorkshire Water was responsible for 260 pollution incidents in 2025 — the highest figure since 2011. Earlier, in 2024, the regulator Ofwat announced a £47 million fine for past sewage spills. Shaw was also criticised over £1.3 million in payments to shareholders not publicly disclosed between 2023 and 2025. In December last year she called the lack of transparency over these payments a 'mistake', adding that it was 'not for me to decide' the amounts. The payments came to light in August the year before last, when the government banned Yorkshire Water and five other water companies from paying executives 'unfair' bonuses.

Statements

In her statement, Shaw called leading the company a 'privilege' and said that now was the 'right time' to leave, adding that she was 'proud' of what her colleagues had achieved in 'putting the business on a firmer footing'. Medlova, for her part, said the company 'faces huge challenges, but also great opportunities for further improvement'. Notably, in February this year the company had already been fined for polluting a stream — meaning the rating downgrade was not the only recent sanction event in its history.