Dozens of new wild swimming spots in England are being designated as bathing waters ahead of the summer and will immediately benefit from regular water quality monitoring, Water Minister Robbie Moore has today announced (May 13 2024).
Following a public consultation, 27 new bathing water sites will be designated ahead of the 2024 bathing water season, which runs between 15 May and 30 September. The new sites will take the total number of bathing waters to 451 across England – the highest number to date.
The new bathing waters – which include a dozen river sites – can be found right across the country from Church Cliff Beach in Dorset to Derwent Water in Cumbria, to the River Dart in Devon and the River Nidd in North Yorkshire.
The Environment Agency regularly monitors water quality at designated bathing water sites and assesses whether action is needed to cut pollution levels – working with local communities, farmers, and water companies to improve water quality at these locations.
The government will also launch a consultation later this year on proposals to reform the Bathing Water Regulations for England. The proposed changes will drive work to improve bathing water quality, enhance monitoring and enable more flexibility around the dates of the bathing water monitoring season. For example, proposals will include increasing monitoring outside of the bathing water season and preventing automatic de-designation of existing bathing water sites.
Defra will also seek public and stakeholder views on extending the definition of ‘bathers’ to include a wider range of water users in addition to swimmers – such as rowers, kayakers and paddle boarders. More information on this consultation will be published in due course.
The next application round will commence in Spring 2025.
Robbie Moore MP said:
"Improving the water quality at our coast, rivers and lakes is incredibly important, especially as more and more people like to enjoy our outdoor environments to swim.
The River Wharfe in Ilkley was the UK’s first river to have a special bathing water designation - with many beaches having such status. This has driven more monitoring of water quality and vast investment locally in Ilkley to help improve the water quality. Today, as Minister for Water, I am announcing the designation of a further 27 new bathing waters (5 coastal, 6 estuarine, 4 lakes & 12 river locations) - taking our total to 451 bathing water sites in England!
In addition, I can announce that Defra plans to consult on a series of potential reforms for England to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. This will include the removal of the automatic de-designation of a bathing water if the site has been classified consistently as ‘Poor’ for a rolling 5 year period. It will also include taking water quality status into account as part of the application process and look at whether the current bathing water season from the 15th May to the 30th September can be expanded to better suit local usage of the bathing waters - bringing with it expanded water quality monitoring."
