The petition of residents of the constituency of Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport,
Declares that Devil’s Point and Firestone Bay in Plymouth is a beautiful stretch of coastline that is of great public benefit to the local community and is frequently used to swim in; further that as it is not classed as a bathing water it does not meet the stricter environmental standards that it should; and further that it should be classed as a bathing water by summer 2022, with testing on water quality conducted all throughout the year.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to support the campaign for Devil’s Point and Firestone Bay in Plymouth to be classified as a bathing water, and for the Environment Agency to designate this without delay.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Luke Pollard , Official Report, 23 March 2022; Vol. 711, c. 405.]
[P002723]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Rebecca Pow):
Thank you very much for sharing your petition with me as Secretary of State at DEFRA.
My Department welcomes applications for bathing water designations for both coastal and inland waters. Anyone can apply for sites to be designated, including local authorities, groups and individuals. In fact, my officials encourage applications by annually writing to the Chief Executive of every local authority in England, as well as by sending similar letters to other stakeholders like swimming associations.
In order for a site to be considered, it must have a large number of bathers relative to the size of the site and have facilities and infrastructure to support bathing as set out in the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. The application must include a survey of bather numbers during the bathing season from 15 May to 30 September, information about the facilities that are available at the site and evidence of a local consultation on the proposal. We would also need to know who is responsible for managing the site, whether that be the local authority or a private operator.
The annual deadline for applications is 31 October and my Department endeavours to make a decision in time for the next bathing season, which starts on 15 May annually, as long as the necessary information is provided.