Mayor Says Scarborough’s Bathing Water Problem ‘Has to be Sorted’

Friday, 5 December 2025 12:01

By Anttoni James Numminen, Local Democracy Reporter

Serious issues with bathing water quality in Scarborough need to be resolved ‘very quickly’, the county’s mayor has said.

David Skaith, the elected mayor of York and North Yorkshire, is “really concerned” about the quality of bathing water in Scarborough after the town’s South Bay and North Bay were rated ‘poor’ and ‘adequate’, respectively, by the Environment Agency.

He also called for organisations to take responsibility for their actions with regard to pollution.

The findings of an investigation into the causes of water pollution in Scarborough are set to be discussed at a special public meeting, councillors announced last month, the date of which is yet to be decided.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) during a visit to Scarborough, Mr Skaith said:

“We know people deserve the best quality of water possible, and we are pressing all the time on how that has to be improved for locals and for tourism.

“We know so many people want to come to our beautiful coastline, but seeing figures like that come through is incredibly disappointing, and something needs to be done very quickly to improve that.”

Asked about the need for organisations to take responsibility for causing and addressing pollution, the mayor said:

“It’s a case of understanding what the challenges are, how we can best solve them, and how we can bring the right people around.

“The right people aren’t always in those rooms having those conversations, and a lot of people don’t want to take ownership of it, but someone has to on this, because it is not good enough at all.”

The fourth Scarborough South Bay Water Quality Summit took place on October 27, bringing together senior representatives from North Yorkshire Council, Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency, DEFRA, and McCain Foods.

North Yorkshire Council’s leader, Coun Carl Les, has suggested that the authority’s focus is moving away from the water quality summits towards smaller-scale working groups.

On the issue of who should take responsibility for the problems, Mayor Skaith told the LDRS:

“We have to work with the EA, Yorkshire Water, and many different organisations who do have responsibility right across the patch, but I think it is that joint approach because it isn’t just a problem on the coast, it’s a problem right across the region and it has to be sorted.”

For almost two years, Professor Darren Gröcke has been leading a comprehensive study of seaweed along the North Yorkshire coast from Filey to Hayburn Wyke, on behalf of North Yorkshire Council.

Through nitrogen isotope analysis of more than 3,000 samples, his findings show values linked to animal manure and human sewage as the dominant contributor to nitrogen pollution, according to the university.

The study also indicates Scalby Beck as a source of nitrogen pollution in Scarborough that is carried south by marine currents towards Scarborough South Bay, a popular visitor and leisure area.

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