Local Green Party members host litter pick on Bridlington south beach
Local Green Party members recently took to collecting litter on Bridlington’s south beach and and spent time talking to visitors about sewage discharges into the sea by Yorkshire Water.
Although the Environment Agency has recently upgraded the south beach’s bathing water quality classification from ‘Poor’ to ‘Sufficient’, the total number of pollution alerts jumped to 80 in 2024 and then even higher to 192 in 2025, 184 of which were sewage overflow activations by Yorkshire Water.
A Green Party spokesperson said: “So far this year there’s already been 39 sewage overflow discharges here. The Surfers Against Sewage Safer Seas and Rivers Service (SSRS) also shows increases in sewage discharges at other Bridlington coast bathing waters in recent years.”
Green Party Councillor for Bridlington South Ward, Andy Walker, said “Sufficient is I’m afraid insufficient, we must be aiming for Blue Flag standard – excellent like Hornsea and Withernsea.
“Extending the current bathing water season (May 15 to September 30) would mean we get water quality testing over a longer period to better inform what’s actually going on, and better reflects when locals and visitors want to go for a swim.”
Rupert Douglas, local resident and Green Party member, added: “Unlike all the illegal fly tipping inland we’re seeing in the news, you can’t really see all the sewage that’s being pumped in to the sea which goes unnoticed. When there’s a sewage discharge alert or pollution risk forecast it’s not really made clear to those about to enter the water.”
Bridlington Green Party councillors Tim Norman and Andy Walker recently visited Bridlington’s waste water treatment plant with representatives from Yorkshire Water to find out more about the south beach sewage issue.
Yorkshire Water is investing more than £100 million in Bridlington over the next five years (up to 2030) to improve wastewater treatment works, upgrade infrastructure, and significantly reduce storm overflow discharges, aimed at boosting bathing water quality. This includes targeted improvements at Bridlington South Beach.
Green Party Councillor for Bridlington South Ward, Tim Norman, said: “Of course we welcome this much-needed and frankly long overdue investment, but need to see more detail about how the money is actually going to be spent so we can be confident that it’s going to effectively stem these increasing harmful and potentially unlawful discharges of sewage into the sea.”