Five Yorkshire beaches along east coast win Blue Flags and Seaside Awards

Five East Riding of Yorkshire beaches have achieved Blue Flags or Seaside Awards for 2024 in various categories.

Hornsea and Withernsea have both won Blue Flag status in the internationally recognised scheme announced today (May 15) by environmental organisation Keep Britain Tidy.

Other beaches include Bridlington North, South Landing and Wilsthorpe, which have all earned Seaside Awards in the annual initiative naming the best beaches in the UK.

Hornsea has been awarded a Blue Flag three more times consecutively and it is the second year in a row for Withernsea.

Hornsea, Withernsea and South Landing have all been recorded with ‘excellent’ water quality results as part of the awards, with Bridlington North and Wilsthorpe recording ‘good’ results.

Every year, Keep Britain Tidy celebrates the UK beaches that meet high standards in quality, cleanliness, safety and the variety of facilities they have for the public.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s coastal services team, which manages the area’s beaches, achieved all five awards it applied for.

The council’s cabinet member for heritage and coastal, coun Barbara Jefferson, said: “It is fantastic news that Hornsea and Withernsea can fly Blue Flags this year and that three more of our beaches have been given Seaside Awards.

“They have all been recognised for meeting high standards and this shows that we have excellent beaches in the East Riding for residents and visitors to enjoy.

“This will no doubt help to attract extra tourists to our area this season.”

A beach must meet more than 30 strict requirements to achieve a Blue Flag, including water quality standards, environmental education, to be efficiently managed, clean, provide litter bins and toilets, allow no dogs during the bathing season, must have lifeguards, life-saving and first aid equipment, and buildings and beach equipment must be well maintained.

A beach needs to meet a similar, but smaller number of requirements, to win a Seaside Award. These also include being efficiently managed, complying with water quality standards, being clean, having litter bins and toilets, now allowing dogs during the bathing season, and having lifeguards or life-saving equipment.

Bridlington South beach was not eligible for a beach award this year due to bathing water quality but continues to comply with all other Seaside Award criteria.

The Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership is working on a project to improve bathing water standards at Bridlington South.

Last year Bridlington South recorded ‘excellent’ bathing water, but the four-year average used means the beach remained ‘poor’ in the 2024 classification.

The project, funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water, included taking more frequent water samples last summer, studying the results to highlight causes for the water quality, then taking actions to improve it.