Firm's move to change way water in Scarborough is assessed to avoid £1.2m fine
Yorkshire Water asked stakeholders to back an attempt to change the way bathing water is assessed at Scarborough South Bay to avoid a £1.2m fine.
Warning signs advising against bathing have become a familiar sight since the bay was rated "poor" in 2018.
The water firm approached various bodies last month to ask them to write to the Environment Agency (EA) to submit a "step change" application to Defra.
The EA confirmed to The Yorkshire Post that a panel has considered the application. Its decision will be made public when the EA makes their annual bathing water quality classifications public on November 25.
In a letter seen by The Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire Water said they believed improvements they and McCain, which operates a large potato processing factory in the area are "significant enough to warrant a formal ‘step-change’ in bathing water classification"
If granted by Defra, water quality data from 2022 and 2023 would be excluded from the 2026 assessment. Instead the classification would be based solely on data from 2024 and 2025, and Yorkshire Water believes this will see the rating change from "poor" to "good".
Yorkshire Water spent £2.85 million upgrading the Wheatcroft combined sewer outfall, which discharges a mix of rainwater and sewage into the bay during heavy rain.
The upgrade, completed in 2024, has seen storage increased so it can hold up to 3,000m3 of wastewater – 500m3 more than an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
This has seen the number of spills in 2025 reduced to nine (totalling 19.43 hours), compared to 120.30 hours across seven events in the last comparable drought year (2022). McCain, adds the letter, has “dramatically reducing harmful bacteria levels” from trade effluent discharged into the bay, following a £23m investment.
The letter says if the classification remains “poor,” the firm will face a £1.2 million fine from regulator Ofwat. Ofwat referred a request for comment to the EA.
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said the reset would benefit the region, boost tourism and had the backing of local group Sons of Neptune.
“Sample results on the EA Swimfo website, supported by other monitoring information, show that following the investment by Yorkshire Water and McCains there has been a step change in bathing water quality in the South Bay. These investments were specifically designed to reduce the bacterial load being discharged to the sea.
"We hope that the EA and Defra will consider the case carefully and support the town and region with an improved bathing water classification.”
Steve Crawford owned and ran a surf school in South Bay, but was forced to close, after the “poor” rating.
He said he would welcome the change from the “horrible hiatus” of recent years, but said the process had to be backed by science. “It must be a legitimate process everyone can trust in – we don’t want a big pot of whitewash over it,” he added.