The Council Leader’s column with Anne Handley

These are given out to the best beaches in England that meet high standards in quality, cleanliness, safety and public facilities.

This is proof that the work being carried out by the Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership to improve water quality for this important and popular stretch of beach is making progress and moving in the right direction.

All five awards applied for this year by the council’s coastal services team, which manages the area’s beaches, were achieved.

There were a lot of reports of the beaches, particularly the south beach, being covered in litter over the May bank holiday.

It is incredibly sad to see people leaving their rubbish behind, but I want to thank all the local litter pickers and our own streetscene teams for clearing up the waste and returning the beaches to the beautiful places they are.

Our streetscene teams were out working from 6am until late in the evening every day that weekend and I applaud them for their hard work.

I had a fantastic time last month representing our area at two events which were about investing in the North.

The first event was the Great North conference, where it was genuinely inspiring to see our region come together to showcase the North's enormous potential to investors and partners from across the country. There is real momentum behind us, and I'm determined we make the most of it.

Next up was UKREiiF – the UK's leading forum for real estate, investment and infrastructure, held over three days, in Leeds.

This was chance for me, along with other local leaders and council officers to showcase what the area can offer businesses and investors.

Across the week I joined a series of Northern Powerhouse roundtables, where leaders discussed how we drive sustainable, inclusive growth, and I held a number of valuable investor meetings – building relationships that I hope will deliver real, lasting benefits locally.

I was delighted to speak on the BT panel, "Bringing digital into regional growth in the Great North," setting out how strong digital connectivity is fundamental to unlocking opportunity, supporting our businesses and improving daily life for residents.

I return home energised, with new connections and a renewed determination to bring growth, jobs and opportunity to our communities. We have so much to be proud of in this area that it is always a delight to be able to go and tell others about what the East Riding has to offer.