Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy has announced the winners of the prestigious Blue Flag and Seaside Awards for summer 2024.
Across Yorkshire and the Humber – which incorporates East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North-East Lincolnshire – 12 beaches have been presented with awards recognising the quality of the beaches, the way they are managed and the facilities they offer to visitors.
The Blue Flag is the world’s most recognised award for beaches, marinas and inland bathing waters and, to qualify, each applicant must meet and maintain a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria.
This year three beaches across the region have met the high standards required:
● Whitby – North Yorkshire Council
● Hornsea – East Riding of Yorkshire Council
● Withernsea – East Riding of Yorkshire Council
And ten beaches in the region were awarded the Seaside Award, including one of the Blue Flag winners. They are:
● Bridlington North – East Riding of Yorkshire
● Wilsthorpe – East Riding of Yorkshire
● South Landing – East Riding of Yorkshire
● Filey – North Yorkshire Council
● Runswick Bay – North Yorkshire Council
● Cayton Bay – North Yorkshire Council
● Robin Hoods Bay – North Yorkshire Council
● Sandsend – North Yorkshire Council
● Scarborough North Bay – North Yorkshire Council
● Whitby – North Yorkshire Council
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: “It’s wonderful to see the flags flying proudly over these 12 fantastic beaches that are a real asset to residents and visitors in Yorkshire and the Humber.
“Blue Flag locations are free for all to enjoy, with visitors within the UK able to experience the same quality as destinations like Spain or Trinidad and Tobago without the environmental impact – or price tag – of flying.
“Seaside Awards are presented to the best beaches in England and celebrate the quality and diversity of our coastline.”
“The awards are a credit to the collective efforts of beach and site managers, volunteers, residents and businesses who have worked tirelessly to maintain, protect and improve some of our best-loved and most popular blue spaces and we’d like to take this moment to recognise and applaud them.
“We should not underestimate the huge commitment needed to make these marvellous sites worthy of these awards.”
The Blue Flag and Seaside Awards are aimed at improving the quality of England’s coastline and blue spaces and promoting the country’s best beaches.
Blue Flag is an international award managed by Keep Britain Tidy on behalf of the Foundation for Environmental Education. It is only presented to beaches, marinas and inland bathing waters with bathing water which has achieved the highest classification as set by the EU Bathing Water Directive and has an environmental education programme, while Seaside Awards are presented to the best beaches in England and celebrate the quality and diversity of our coastline.
Among the criteria sites are assessed against are:
● Safety and services, such as first aid, lifeguards where necessary
● Environmental information, including displaying details about local eco systems
● Water quality – Blue Flag beaches must meet the ‘excellent’ water quality standard as set out in the EU bathing water directive and Seaside Award winners must meet the ‘sufficient’ standard
● Environmental management, including litter and waste
