Scarborough South Bay: 'Son of Neptune' says water quality has improved

The Environment Agency has been urged to reflect improvements in Scarborough South Bay's water quality so this year it's not rated as "poor" again.

Swimmers are currently advised against bathing in South Bay – which is affected by a number of factors, including sewage entering the sea further north from Yorkshire Water's waste treatment plant.

However campaign group Sons of Neptune say investment – including £32m to treat starchy washing water from potatoes at the McCain plant before it is discharged into the sea – has led to improvements over the summer.

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Freddie Drabble, who leads the group, which has been going since the 1980s, said it was “unfair” if South Bay is again rated poor, which attracts bad publicity and negative impact on tourism.

Scarborough Harbour and South Bay on the East Coast taken from the Tucano aircroft flown from RAF Linton on Ouse. 20th September 2004 (Tech Data Nikon D1h camera, 24-120mm lens, exposure 2000th sec at f5.6, iso 400)Scarborough Harbour and South Bay on the East Coast taken from the Tucano aircroft flown from RAF Linton on Ouse. 20th September 2004 (Tech Data Nikon D1h camera, 24-120mm lens, exposure 2000th sec at f5.6, iso 400)
Scarborough Harbour and South Bay on the East Coast taken from the Tucano aircroft flown from RAF Linton on Ouse. 20th September 2004 (Tech Data Nikon D1h camera, 24-120mm lens, exposure 2000th sec at f5.6, iso 400)

The Environment Agency is due to announce bathing water quality results in the next few weeks.

Mr Drabble said: “Great progress is being made at Scarborough South and it’s the fruit of years of collaboration and pooling of research carried out by ourselves, the Environment Agency (EA), Yorkshire Water and North Yorkshire Council.

"The investment made by Yorkshire Water and McCain Food recently has improved the quality of the water in South Bay, according to this year’s sample results.

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"We have now written to the EA to call for a reset of the classification as the currently four-year rolling average on which the classification is decided means the beach would likely to remain ‘poor’ in 2025, and possibly beyond, until the improvements are truly recognised in the average data.”

Yorkshire Water has completed a £2m project to reduce discharges from a storm overflow into the North Sea at Wheatcroft, ahead of schedule.

Further investment is taking place at the Whitby Road Bridge storm overflow near Scalby Beck.

Meanwhile McCain’s investment had seen reductions in organic material, including starch in the wastewater by over 97 per cent, and filtering out bacteria among other benefits, Mr Drabble said.

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The only other beach in Yorkshire rated “poor” is Bridlington South.

A recent investigation by the EA points the finger at seabird droppings as well as human waste, coming either from the harbour or the Gypsey Race, a 25-mile long stream which feeds into the harbour.

It comes as the government went out to consultation over reforming bathing water rules. As well as testing all year round and not just in the “bathing season” from May to September, it is proposing ending the automatic de-designation of bathing water status after five consecutive years of a site being rated “poor”.

Instead, underperforming sites will be individually reviewed by regulators, taking into account their unique circumstances.

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Last year, testing by the Environment Agency found that England’s three river swimming areas all had “poor” status due to pollution. They include a stretch of the river Wharfe at Cromwheel, Ilkley, which became the first designated river bathing water site in England in 2021.

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