Wild swimming: 27 new bathing spots planned across England despite 'grim' sewage dumping - full list of proposed sites

A total of 27 swimming spots are set to be designated as official bathing water sites by the government, many of which are rivers and lakes. If designated, the sites would receive regular water monitoring by the Environment Agency, which would investigate pollution sources and identify steps to be taken in response, officials said.

People would be able to see whether it was safe to swim in the waters, which include popular “wild swimming” spots. However, the news comes amid growing public anger about the amount of sewage being illegally discharged into UK rivers and lakes. 

Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron said: “Conservative ministers have finally buckled to Liberal Democrat demands for more bathing water sites, but the grim truth is water firms have dumped over 400,000 hours of sewage into swimming spots since 2020. The government has yet again been dragged kicking and screaming to take action on water quality. However, this is yet another half-baked announcement, which does not ban water firms from dumping sewage into bathing water areas.”

A total of 27 new bathing sites would be designated under the plans, significantly boosting the number of such official inland swimming areas. The Environment Department (Defra) said last year 96% of bathing waters in England met minimum annual standards and 90% were rated as “good” or “excellent”.

The list of 27 proposed sites also includes several on the River Dart Estuary in Devon, and beaches in West Sussex, Dorset and Tyne and Wear. There were 424 designated bathing waters in England in 2023, with only a handful of them inland, and the vast majority on the coast.

Making the announcement on what was described as the largest ever rollout of new bathing sites, 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.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.”

Defra said the sites put forward for consultation, which runs until 10 March, were chosen based on how many people bathe there and whether it has suitable facilities such as toilets. The department said the consultation on the new designations would build on recent improvements to the water environment, which includes boosting the number of water company inspections by the Environment Agency, and requiring a £60 billion infrastructure programme over 25 years.

Listed are the sites being considered for designation:

• Church Cliff Beach, Lyme Regis, Dorset

• Coastguards Beach, River Erme, Devon

• Coniston Boating Centre, Coniston Water, Cumbria

• Coniston Brown Howe, Coniston Water, Cumbria

• Littlehaven Beach, Tyne and Wear

• Manningtree Beach, Essex

• Monk Coniston, Coniston Water, Cumbria

• River Avon at Fordingbridge, Hampshire

• River Cam at Sheep’s Green, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

• River Dart Estuary at Dittisham, Devon

• River Dart Estuary at Steamer Quay, Totnes, Devon

• River Dart Estuary at Stoke Gabriel, Devon

• River Dart Estuary at Warfleet, Dartmouth, Devon

• River Frome at Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset

• River Nidd at the Lido Leisure Park in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire

• River Ribble at Edisford Bridge, Lancashire

• River Severn at Ironbridge, Shropshire

• River Severn at Shrewsbury, Shropshire

• River Stour at Sudbury, Suffolk

• River Teme at Ludlow, Shropshire

• River Tone in French Weir Park, Taunton, Somerset

• Wallingford Beach, River Thames, Berkshire

• Derwent Water, Crow Park, Keswick, Cumbria

• River Wharfe at Wetherby Riverside, West Yorkshire

• Goring Beach, Worthing, West Sussex

• Worthing Beach House, Worthing, West Sussex

• Rottingdean Beach, Rottingdean, East Sussex