Defra has announced (10 April) that four swimming spots in England are being designated as bathing waters ahead of the warmer months and will soon benefit from regular water quality monitoring.

Following a two-week public consultation, Sykes Lane Bathing Beach and Whitwell Creek at Rutland Water, Firestone Bay in Plymouth, and a section of the River Deben at Waldringfield, Suffolk, will all be officially designated ahead of the 2023 bathing water season. The four new sites will take the total number of bathing waters across the country to 424, the highest number ever.

Link to Defra press release and consultation response.

Covered in The Guardian