The government has published plans to designate “the largest ever number of new bathing water sites.”
Under the plan, which is subject to a two-week consultation, the Environment Agency will create 27 new designated swimming spots in England. If designated, sites will receive “regular water monitoring from the Environment Agency, who will investigate pollution sources and identify steps to be taken in response, which could include actions by water companies, farmers and others.”
All residents, bathers, businesses, and organisations are invited to take part in the consultation which closes on 10 March.
The sites being considered for designation are:
Six in Devon;
Four in Cumbria;
Three in Shropshire;
Two in Somerset and West Sussex; and
single sites in: Tyne and Wear, Essex, Hampshire, Cambridgeshire, North Yorkshire, Lancashire , Suffolk, Berkshire, West Yorkshire, East Sussex and Dorset.
The government claimed the changes would follow 96% of bathing waters in England having met minimum standards last year with 90% rated as “good” or “excellent”, up from 76% in 2010, “despite the classification standards becoming stricter in 2015”.
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