Former Member of Parliament for Scarborough and Whitby, Sir Robert Goodwill, has been appointed as the new chair of the Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership to help steer efforts in improving regional water quality.
The former Member of Parliament for Scarborough and Whitby, Sir Robert Goodwill, has been officially appointed as the new chair of the Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership.
This collaborative regional organisation brings together key stakeholders, including Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency, and the various local authorities where Yorkshire’s designated bathing waters are geographically located.
According to the partnership, the appointment of Sir Robert follows a comprehensive and full renewal of the structure and the governance of the Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership.
During his tenure as the Member of Parliament for Scarborough and Whitby, Sir Robert previously attended the bathing water partnership meetings to represent his coastal constituents. In his newly appointed role as chair, he will utilise that experience to help steer the future direction of the collaborative group.
The partnership has stated that Sir Robert will also work alongside other bathing water chairs from across the country. This national collaboration aims to actively share learnings and best practices as the Yorkshire partnership continues its ongoing work to improve bathing water quality across the entire region.
Initially, the newly structured partnership is focusing its efforts on bathing waters in the Yorkshire region that currently hold a ‘poor’ classification. Furthermore, the group is developing a deeper understanding of how to effectively work together on any newly designated bathing waters across Yorkshire, as well as any bathing waters that may be designated in the future.
As part of his new leadership responsibilities, Sir Robert will be working to appoint an independent stakeholder representative. The partnership explains that this representative will look to bring together local interest groups surrounding bathing waters, with the primary goal of improving transparency between communities and sharing the ongoing progress being made by the group.
Speaking about his new appointment, Sir Robert Goodwill 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."
The former MP's appointment has not been welcomed by everyone, Scarborough Councillor Rich Maw 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."
The inaugural board meeting of the newly renewed Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership is currently expected to take place in August.
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