Yahoo News Five Yorkshire swimming spots fail water quality standards - including two popular beaches
Five wild swimming spots in Yorkshire have been rated "poor" after failing to meet water quality standards.
While it was already known that three of the popular bathing sites were already failing to meet standards, two are new designations. These include Nidd at the Lido in Knaresborough and Wharfe at Wilderness Carpark in West Yorkshire.
It comes as figures revealed that one in 12 English bathing spots failed to meet the water quality standards, being classified as "poor" this year - approximately eight per cent of all monitored sites.
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Specifically, these failing sites comprised 4.5 per cent of pre-existing official bathing locations before the 2024 season and a staggering 67 per cent of the 27 newly designated sites this year, which hadn't been previously tested or managed as bathing waters.
The "poor" bathing sites in Yorkshire are:
Scarborough South Bay, North Yorkshire
Bridlington South Beach, East Riding of Yorkshire
Wharfe at Cromwheel, Ilkley, West Yorkshire
Nidd at the Lido, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire (new designation)
Wharfe at Wilderness Carpark, West Yorkshire (new designation)
North Yorkshire Council's Councillor Rich Maw (Independent, Weaponness & Ramshill division) described the state of Scarborough's waters as "unacceptable". It comes as Scarborough’s North Bay has declined from ‘good’ to ‘sufficient’ while the South Bay remains on the lowest rating of ‘poor’, according to the Environment Agency’s and Defra’s annual classifications.
Sandsend, Whitby, and Cayton Bay have retained their ‘excellent’ ratings, Reighton has gone from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’, and Robin Hood’s Bay has gone from ‘good’ to ‘sufficient’.
Coun Rich Maw said: “This is unacceptable. Privatisation has failed across many sectors, not least with water.
“The Government’s pledge to strengthen regulation doesn’t go far enough in my view.
“Fresh, clean water and the safe dealing of sewage are a necessity. Why should a few at the top make huge profits out of something we all need?"
A meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Scarborough and Whitby Area Committee is set to discuss Defra’s consultation on reform of the Bathing Water Regulations at its meeting on Friday, November 29. The consultation is open to contributions here until Monday, December 23.
37 bathing sites in England given a "poor" rating in the 2024 assessment
Tynemouth Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear.
Littlehaven Beach, Tyne and Wear (new designation).
Scarborough South Bay, North Yorkshire.
Bridlington South Beach, East Riding of Yorkshire.
Wharfe at Cromwheel, Ilkley, West Yorkshire.
Nidd at the Lido, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire (new designation).
Wharfe at Wilderness Carpark, West Yorkshire (new designation).
Heacham, Norfolk.
Sheep's Green, River Cam, Cambridgeshire (new designation).
Wolvercote Mill Stream, Oxfordshire.
Wallingford Beach, River Thames, Oxfordshire (new designation).
Deal Castle, Kent.
Dymchurch, Kent.
Littlestone, Kent.
Worthing Beach House, West Sussex (new designation).
Bognor Regis (Aldwick), West Sussex.
Southsea East, Hampshire.
River Avon at Fordingbridge, Hampshire (new designation).
Lyme Regis Church Cliff Beach, Dorset (new designation).
Steamer Quay, Dart Estuary, Devon (new designation).
Coastguards Beach, Erme Estuary, Devon (new designation).
Porthluney, Cornwall.
Dunster Beach, Somerset.
Blue Anchor West, Somerset.
River Tone at French Weir Park, Somerset (new designation).
Weston-super-Mare Uphill Slipway, North Somerset.
Weston Main, North Somerset.
Weston-super-Mare Sand Bay, North Somerset.
River Frome at Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset (new designation).
River Teme in Ludlow, Shropshire (new designation).
River Severn at Ironbridge, Shropshire (new designation).
River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire (new designation).
St Annes North, Lancashire.
Blackpool North, Lancashire.
Coniston Water, Boating Centre, Cumbria (new designation).
Derwent Water at Crow Park, Cumbria (new designation).
River Ribble at Edisford Bridge, Lancashire (new designation).
Emma Hardy, the water minister, said: “These figures are unacceptable and show that too many of our popular swimming spots are polluted.
“That’s why we are placing water companies under special measures through the water bill, which will strengthen regulation including new powers to ban the payment of bonuses for polluting water bosses and bring criminal charges against persistent lawbreakers.”
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