MP insists Yorkshire river is safe to swim in as he pushes for bathing water status

A row has erupted after an MP claimed that people can swim safely in a river in North Yorkshire.

Andrew Jones, Tory MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said hundreds of people regularly take a dip in the River Nidd at Lido Leisure Park without issue, when he spoke at a North Yorkshire Council meeting.

It comes after he applied for that stretch to be granted bathing water status by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), as environmental agencies would then be required to conduct regular testing and work to improve the water quality.

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However, he has been attacked by Liberal Democrat councillors who claim “countless children and adults” get sick after swimming in the Nidd every summer.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew JonesHarrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones

Mr Jones said: “It isn’t reasonable to say it's not safe to swim in the River Nidd because hundreds and hundreds of people are doing it every week.”

The Tory MP said he is optimistic the stretch of river in Knaresborough will receive designated bathing water status and he expects Defra to make a decision in “late April or early May”.

“What I'm trying to do is make our area even better. That's the point here,” he said.

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People like swimming in the Nidd and this is about helping them do that.”

River Nidd in KnaresboroughRiver Nidd in Knaresborough
River Nidd in Knaresborough

Pollution affecting the water quality comes from various sources, including runoff from agricultural farms and abandoned lead mines, as well as sewage discharges from storm overflows.

The Nidd was polluted by 870 sewage spills in 2022, according to Environment Agency figures, and last year testing revealed there were “concerningly high” levels of the harmful bacteria E. coli.

Yorkshire Water has promised to invest £180m in improving its sewage network, to increase capacity and cut the number of sewage discharges.

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The company is also spending £19m on upgrading Killinghall wastewater treatment works in Harrogate, to reduce the amount of phosphorus released into the River Nidd.

A Defra spokesman said: “We want to improve the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes for the benefit of people and the environment and our Plan for Water sets out how more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement is holding water companies to account.

“We have received a bathing water application for an area of the River Nidd in Knaresborough. This is now being assessed to see if it meets the required criteria to become a bathing water, as set out in our application guidance.”

The vast majority of bathing sites are on the coast, and only three rivers in England have the special designation: Wolvercote Mill Stream in Oxfordshire, the Deben estuary at Waldringfield and the River Wharfe at Ilkley.

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The Wharfe was granted bathing status in 2021, but the Environment Agency has said swimming is “not advised”, as it contains effluent from storm overflows and runoff from livestock farms.

Yorkshire Water said it is installing a new sewer that will significantly reduce the frequency and volume of discharges when it opens later this month.

In December, the Environment Agency revealed it had tested 423 bathing water sites and 18 (including the three rivers) were classed as poor.

Only in 2015, when the agency began using the current classification system, was there a higher percentage of poor ratings.