Woodbridge: River Deben bathing status bid turned down

Woodbridge sits on the River Deben, about three miles upstream from Waldringfield

A group campaigning for improved water quality said it was "shocked" that one of its bids to secure river monitoring was turned down.

Save the Deben has called for two stretches of the river in Suffolk to be granted designated bathing status.

It was told Woodbridge did not meet the criteria, but a public consultation is being held over Waldringfield.

Environment minister Rebecca Pow said she "strongly encouraged" all residents and bathers to have their say.

Waldringfield is among four sites in England - with two in Rutland and another in Plymouth - that are still being considered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

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Once designated a bathing site, the Environment Agency regularly monitors water quality to give swimmers a clearer picture and to assess whether action is needed on pollution.

Campaign founders Caroline Page and Ruth Leach have said they want river users to enjoy a "clean environment"

The applications were made last year, with Woodbridge receiving letters of support from Anglian Water and the National Trust, the group said.

"We are shocked and surprised that Woodbridge did not meet the criteria," said group co-founder Ruth Leach, a town councillor in Woodbridge.

"If the [swimmer] numbers were too low, surely it's because swimmers are scared off by the seven sewage outlet points draining into the river in the Woodbridge stretch."

She added an average of 58 swimmers a day were counted during last summer's heatwave, showing it was "still clearly a bathing area".

"It is outrageous that the hundreds of dinghy sailors, paddleboarders, kayakers, anglers who come into contact with the water at varied depths and degrees of immersion could not be included in the count, and will not know whether it is safe to do so," she added.

Woodbridge mayor, Patrick Gillard, said: "While I am very happy that Waldringfield has gone to the next step in achieving bathing water status, I am deeply disappointed that we have not yet been able to provide the same protection for all the hundreds of Woodbridge residents who make use of our entire reach of the River Deben."

When selecting new sites, Defra considers how many people bathe there, if the site has suitable infrastructure and facilities, such as toilets, and where investment in water quality improvements would have the most impact.

Only those that meet these factors are taken forward to public consultation.

A consultation for Waldringfield runs until 24 March.