Beach Water Quality Plans To Be Drawn Up Following Partnership Meeting

Detailed action plans for every Yorkshire Coast beach will be developed this November following the inaugural meeting of the renewed Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership.

Action plans for every beach along the Yorkshire Coast will be drawn up this November.

Coastal water quality strategies will undergo a major review as the current summer season concludes. Officials from water companies, local councils and environmental agencies confirmed the move following the first board meeting of the Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership under its new chair, former Scarborough MP Sir Robert Goodwill.

Bacterial pollution and combined sewer overflows will face targeted mitigation ahead of national 2035 targets. The collaborative group, which includes Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency, North Yorkshire Council and the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, aims to coordinate multi-million-pound infrastructure upgrades to achieve these improvements.

Specific locations in Scarborough, alongside inland spots like the River Nidd in Knaresborough, will receive initial priority as they currently hold a 'poor' classification.

Former Scarborough and Whitby Member of Parliament Sir Robert Goodwill chaired the recent meeting, having taken up the role of independent chair in May following a complete governance renewal.

Manager of Strategic Partnerships for Bathing Water at Yorkshire Water, Miles Cameron, outlined the broader vision for the region's waterways.

He said:

"We had our first inaugural board, chaired by Sir Robert Goodwill, who's now the independent chair.

The vision is clearly to create and sustain a thriving bathing water in Yorkshire, I major the phrase thriving because I don't think it's just about the environmental water quality. Although that's absolutely paramount, the thriving phrase is purposely left in there because it's got to be about the local economy. It's got to be about making sure that tourism does thrive because while the water quality is of course, part of that, but it's absolutely got to be the essence of why we sit around a table and why we're collaboratively together."

Bathing water classifications, ranging from excellent to poor, will be reviewed alongside real-time public information data provided by the Environment Agency's Swimfo platform.

Miles Cameron explained that detailed evaluations for every coastal site will take place later this year.

He said:

"We are at the end of the bathing season. It's likely that in November we'll have a follow-up meeting with the leads from each of the local authorities, the chief executive, and the lead from the EA.

We'll appraise the results of every bathing beach, and that will then be shared in the form of a plan for every beach as about where's working well, where's not so good in terms of water quality, and what are the plans? What is each agency doing? What are Yorkshire Water doing? What's North Yorkshire doing? What is the EA doing? 'Cause my belief, and our belief is that everybody plays a part.

Yorkshire Water's course got a big part to play, but so does everybody else, and that's the essence, really."

Sir Robert Goodwill previously attended partnership meetings to represent his coastal constituents during his time in Parliament.

He outlined his priorities upon taking the role, highlighting the importance of the region's waters.

He said:

"The quality of our bathing waters is important to everyone in our region, whether that's their use of waters for recreation or for its influence on tourism. Bringing together the partnership in one place and exploring the various opportunities we have to make improvements across all our coastal and inland bathing waters is positive and something I'm looking forward to being involved in. One of my first actions will be to appoint an independent stakeholder representative. They will bring together local interest groups to ensure they are involved in the work we're doing to improve bathing waters and to improve transparency around the process, the complexities and the challenges we're facing now and into the future."

However, the appointment of the former Conservative MP has drawn mixed reactions from local figures.

Scarborough Councillor Rich Maw criticised the decision to place Sir Robert at the head of the organisation.

He said:

"Many residents will find it extraordinary that Sir Robert Goodwill – who, as a Tory MP, voted against stronger legal duties on water companies to reduce sewage discharges – is now leading Yorkshire's bathing water partnership. At the very moment stronger action was needed to protect our seas from sewage, he voted the other way. Now he's been handed the chair position - a role responsible for improving bathing water quality. It's not just ironic – it surely undermines public trust... People are sick of sewage pollution along our coast. They want action and leadership that matches the scale of the problem. This appointment, to my mind sends completely the wrong message."