The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a consultation on 27 bids for bathing water status. The bid to designate the Nidd at the Lido in Knaresborough is one of those being consulted upon.
Local MP Andrew Jones has led the campaign to allocate the site as a bathing water, submitted the bid personally to Defra in September and recently briefed the new Secretary of State, Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, on the bid.
The bid received support from over 30 local organisations including farming groups, parish and town councils, businesses and environmental groups.
Defra’s consultation is the next part in the process and it is important that we demonstrate strong support for the bid.
Andrew commented:
It is good that our bid for bathing water status has reached the next stage. We need to demonstrate strong support for the bid and so I encourage residents and businesses to take part.
If we achieve bathing water status that means the Environment Agency will put in place plans to address water quality problems at the Lido which will have benefits up and downstream from the site.
Already Yorkshire Water have committed £180m to reduce the operation of storm overflows in addition to the £147m already committed in their business plan.
The storm overflows operate when sewers are under pressure and release the contents into the river system to prevent sewage backing up into our homes.
But with periods of intense rain becoming more common and blockages caused by wet wipes and fat the overflows are operating too often.
Water run-off from farmland is the biggest factor in pollution of the Nidd according to the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust. This includes pollution from pesticides and animal waste.
Andrew continued:
I know that local people are behind the bathing water bid but we need to show Defra that this is the case and we need to do so right now because of the tight deadline for this consultation.
The site is ideal. There are plenty of local facilities on site, the land owner is supporting the case and the site is well-used recreationally.
The consultation is short and if you need more information about the bid it is available online. We only have until 10 March to give our views so we need to act quickly.
See consultation here:
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/water/consultation-on-designation-of-27-sites-as-bathing/
