Yorkshire Water Defend Former MP's Appointment To Lead Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership

The appointment of former Scarborough and Whitby MP Sir Robert Goodwill to chair the Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership has sparked local debate over his environmental voting record.

The appointment of former Scarborough and Whitby Member of Parliament Sir Robert Goodwill as the new chair of the Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership has sparked controversy and drawn sharp criticism from a local politician over his environmental voting record.

Sir Robert has been officially appointed to lead the collaborative regional organisation, which brings together key stakeholders including Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency, and various local authorities. The partnership aims to steer efforts in improving water quality across the region, focusing initially on bathing waters that currently hold a 'poor' classification.

However, the decision to install the former Conservative MP in the leadership role has not been universally welcomed. Scarborough Councillor Rich Maw has voiced strong concerns regarding the appointment, pointing out that during his time in Parliament, Sir Robert voted against stronger legal duties on water companies to reduce sewage discharges.

Councillor Maw has questioned whether the move will help restore public faith in the authorities responsible for managing local coastlines.

Scarborough Councillor Rich Maw said:

"Many residents are asking how confidence in our bathing water partnerships can be rebuilt when leadership positions are being filled by people whose environmental voting records are themselves the subjects of controversy.

At a  recent surfers against sewage paddle out, I mentioned his appointment to spontaneous boos and jeers.

So, I understand that Yorkshire Water are trying to restore public trust and convince people that improving water quality is generally a top priority.

But appointments such as this, are they really helping?"

The Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership maintains that the appointment followed a comprehensive renewal of the group's structure and governance. During his tenure as the Member of Parliament for Scarborough and Whitby, Sir Robert regularly attended the partnership's meetings to represent his coastal constituents.

Yorkshire Water has acknowledged the local backlash but has defended the rigorous selection process behind the appointment.

Miles Cameron, manager of strategic partnerships at Yorkshire Water, said:

"I absolutely acknowledge that that's been somewhat controversial, particularly in Scarborough with Sir Robert's heritage as an MP for this town.

That appointment followed a due diligence through the partnership after the process of identifying somebody who had the relevant level of experience and acumen to chair a partnership and truly act independently.

Part of Sir Robert's role will be to establish a stakeholder group with all water users and that in itself should have an independent voice and be led that way.

It is an attempt to provide some form of leadership steering at a very senior level, rather than having one of the agencies lead it, and that was the rationale."

Despite the concerns raised over his past parliamentary votes on environmental legislation, the appointment has been firmly backed by the leadership at North Yorkshire Council.

North Yorkshire Council Leader Councillor Carl Les pointed to the new chair's extensive background in environmental governance, highlighting that Sir Robert is a former government minister in the Environmental Department and a former Chair of the Commons Defra Select Committee.

For his part, Sir Robert has stated that the quality of regional bathing waters is important to everyone, whether for recreation or tourism.

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 inaugural board meeting of the newly renewed Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership is currently expected to take place in August.