Oxford wild swimming: Bathing water status bid for popular spots

Fiddlers Island near Port Meadow could be granted a special designation

Wild swimming spots in Oxford could be given bathing water status.

Oxford City Council has submitted an application to give Wolvercote stream and Fiddlers Island, near Port Meadow, the special designation.

It would result in the Environment Agency testing pollution levels regularly and the council putting up signage displaying the water quality.

If awarded they would be the second and third sites to get the status, following Ilkley in West Yorkshire.

More than 5,000 people signed a petition backing the move.

Mary Clarkson, cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said: "Oxford's rivers are well loved, especially during the summer.

"We want to ensure that our rivers are clean and unpolluted in order to help protect the health of Oxford's swimmers, rowers, and anyone else who wants to enjoy them."

The council would have to display signage rating the water quality from excellent to poor if the application is successful

The application was submitted to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) by the council on behalf of the Oxford Rivers Project.

Project officer Claire Robertson said its members were "over the moon" to have the application submitted.

She added: "People in Oxford really love their river and want to see it clean and healthy for people and wildlife, and free of sewage and other forms of pollution."

Thames Water would be responsible for maintaining the water quality, alongside the council.

Richard Aylard, the company's sustainability director, said it supported the application.

"Our aim will always be to try and do the right thing for our rivers and for the communities who love and value them," he said.

Bathing status would mean the water being tested for the bacteria that usually comes from sewage and animal manure. The water classification signs would rate it from excellent to poor.

A Defra spokesperson said: "We welcome applications for bathing water designations for both coastal and inland waters such as rivers.

"We are currently considering the applications made by Oxford City Council and we will respond in due course."

Since the River Wharfe in Ilkley was granted bathing water status, Environment Agency data has shown levels of bacteria far higher than deemed safe for wild swimming.