A campaign to secure official bathing water status for a popular Bembridge beach has received a major boost after the Isle of Wight Council unanimously agreed to support the application, ending months of uncertainty over whether the bid could proceed.
Members of the Council’s Environment and Sustainability Committee voted in favour of backing the Swim at the Point campaign at a meeting yesterday on Thursday (29th October), providing the crucial support needed for an application to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
The decision follows campaigners’ earlier warning that inaction from the local authority could scupper their efforts to secure designated bathing water status for Silver Sands Beach at The Point.
In a detailed 11-page report, council officers recognised the benefits of supporting the application, alongside the potential reputational damage of refusing to do so.
The report also highlighted concerns about the possible impact on the local economy and environment should a sewage outfall be introduced at the increasingly popular bathing spot.
As previously reported by Island Echo, the Swim at the Point campaign was launched in August following the success of the ‘No Poo at The Point’ campaign, which saw Southern Water withdraw plans for a combined sewer overflow at Silver Sands Beach after significant local opposition.
However, the underlying sewage overflow problem remains unresolved, with campaigners concerned that proposals for an outfall could return in the future.
The group has spent months gathering evidence to support its bathing water application, including counting swimmers, conducting surveys, consulting with beach users and securing the necessary permissions.
Support has already been secured from Bembridge Parish Council, Bembridge Harbour, local businesses and hundreds of residents and visitors, with Surfers Against Sewage also providing funding towards the campaign.
Despite this, the group had been unable to secure the formal letter of support required from the Isle of Wight Council, raising fears that the entire application could fail.
Although the deadline for this year’s applications passed earlier in October, campaigners had already submitted their paperwork to DEFRA.
An extension was subsequently granted to allow the outstanding letter of support from the Council to be provided, making Thursday’s committee decision particularly significant.
Andrew Holman, a member of the Swim at the Point group, has said:
“Tonight’s meeting was crucial for us and our application, and so we are extremely grateful to the council for supporting this application.
“We have undertaken a huge amount of work to get this far what with swimmer counts, consultations, surveys and gaining all the myriad of necessary permissions, it would have been a tragedy if the application had failed on what we thought would be, and indeed in the end turned out to be a formality.”
If the application is successful, Silver Sands would become an officially designated bathing water, requiring the Environment Agency to regularly monitor water quality at the beach.
The Isle of Wight Council would also be responsible for displaying bathing water information at the location.
Campaigners hope the designation will provide greater scrutiny of water quality and help safeguard the popular beach against future sewage discharges.
While Thursday’s unanimous vote removes a major obstacle, the final decision on whether Silver Sands Beach receives designated bathing water status rests with DEFRA.
