皇冠体育app

• Government to consult on largest ever rollout of new bathing water sites
• Members of the public are invited to have their say before the consultation closes on 10 March

Plans to designate the largest ever number of new bathing water sites have been set out by the Water Minister today (26th February), as part of the government鈥檚 plan to improve water quality across the country.聽

Subject to a two-week , the Environment Agency will create 27 new designated swimming spots across 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.聽

Last year, 96% of bathing waters in England met minimum standards and 90% of bathing waters in England were rated as 鈥榞ood鈥� or 鈥榚xcellent鈥�, up from 76% in 2010, despite the classification standards becoming stricter in 2015. 皇冠体育app government also updated its guidance last year to make the application process clearer and easier to follow.聽

All residents, bathers, businesses, and organisations are invited to have their say before the consultation closes on 10 March.聽

Water Minister Robbie Moore said:

Many people enjoy spending time in our rivers, lakes, and coastal beaches, and I am very aware of the value they bring in terms of social, health and wellbeing benefits.聽聽聽聽聽

I want to continue to improve the quality of our bathing waters, which is why we are taking action across the board to drive up standards and hold water companies to account. 聽

I encourage all local communities and organisations with an interest to take part in this consultation and have their say.

Currently, when selecting new sites, Defra considers how many people bathe there and if the site has suitable infrastructure and facilities, such as toilets. All applications are assessed against these factors and only those that meet these factors are taken forward to public consultation.聽

皇冠体育app sites being considered for designation are:聽聽聽

• Church Cliff Beach, Lyme Regis, Dorset聽聽
• Coastguards Beach, River Erme, Devon聽聽
• Coniston Boating Centre, Coniston Water, Cumbria聽聽聽
• Coniston Brown Howe, Coniston Water, Cumbria聽聽聽
• Littlehaven Beach, Tyne and Wear聽聽
• Manningtree Beach, Essex聽聽
• Monk Coniston, Coniston Water, Cumbria聽聽聽
• River Avon at Fordingbridge, Hampshire聽聽
• River Cam at Sheep鈥檚 Green, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire聽聽聽
• River Dart Estuary at Dittisham, Devon聽聽聽
• River Dart Estuary at Steamer Quay, Totnes, Devon聽聽聽
• River Dart Estuary at Stoke Gabriel, Devon聽聽聽
• River Dart Estuary at Warfleet, Dartmouth, Devon聽聽聽
• River Frome at Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset聽聽
• River Nidd at the Lido Leisure Park in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire聽聽
• River Ribble at Edisford Bridge, Lancashire聽聽
• River Severn at Ironbridge, Shropshire聽聽聽
• River Severn at Shrewsbury, Shropshire聽聽聽
• River Stour at Sudbury, Suffolk聽聽
• River Teme at Ludlow, Shropshire聽聽聽
• River Tone in French Weir Park, Taunton, Somerset聽聽
• Wallingford Beach, River Thames, Berkshire聽聽
• Derwent Water, Crow Park, Keswick, Cumbria聽聽
• River Wharfe at Wetherby Riverside, West Yorkshire聽聽
• Goring Beach, Worthing, West Sussex聽聽
• Worthing Beach House, Worthing, West Sussex聽聽
• Rottingdean Beach, Rottingdean, East Sussex聽聽聽

This consultation will build on recent improvements the government has delivered to the water environment, including:聽

• Announcing a ban on bonuses for water company executives whose firms have committed serious criminal breaches 鈥� subject to Ofwat consultation. 聽
• Quadrupling the Environment Agency鈥檚 regulatory capacity 鈥� allowing them to carry out 4,000 water company inspections by the end of the next financial year.聽
• Requiring companies to monitor 100% of storm overflows in England - providing a complete picture of when and where sewage spills happen.聽聽 聽
• Removing the cap on civil penalties for water companies and broadening their scope so swifter action can be taken against those who pollute our waterways.聽聽 聽
• Requiring the largest infrastructure programme in water company history - 拢60 billion over 25 years 鈥� to revamp aging assets and reduce the number of sewage spills by hundreds of thousands every year.聽聽聽
• Increasing protections for coastal and estuarine waters by expanding the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan, prioritising bathing waters, sites of special scientific interest and shellfish waters.聽聽聽聽聽
• Providing 拢10 million in support for farmers to store more water on their land through the Water Management Grants to support food production and improve water security.聽聽聽 聽
• Speeding up the process of building key water supply infrastructure, including more reservoirs and water transfer schemes.