‘I’ve been hit hardest’: Scarborough surf instructor says poor water quality in South Bay has made him ‘redundant’

Steve Crawford, who owns and runs the Fluid Concept Surf School in Scarborough has said that poor water quality and warnings against bathing in the South Bay have had a “profound” impact on his business and have resulted in thousands of pounds of lost income.

The water quality at Scarborough’s South Bay is rated as “poor” on the Environment Agency’s (EA) Swimfo website which has also issued “advice against bathing.”

Although generally rated as “excellent” by the EA, Scarborough’s North Bay has also received a warning advising against bathing “due to pollution from sewage” following an “incident” declared on June 20.

Mr Crawford, 54, who teaches surfing and hires out surfing equipment, said: “I don’t do much work in winter because it is colder, and this is the time of year when I pay my winter bills, prepare for next year, and replace stock, but I’ve barely made a penny.

“As a business, I can’t teach and the lifeguards are actively telling people to not go in the water.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he added: “If you arrived at a beach with your kids and picnic and the first thing you see is a sign saying ‘don’t go in the water’, what does that say about Scarborough as a town coming out of all the post-Covid years?”

“This is going to hit a lot of people, it’s just that I’ve been hit hardest first by this.”

Mr Crawford has run his business out of the Scarborough Spa complex for 17 years but said it would “not be sustainable to pay the council for a unit I can’t use… if I have to give that shop up, it means that I will never get a place like it again, I will not be able to start from scratch.”

At a recent meeting of the Scarborough and Whitby Area Constituency Committee, officers from the Environment Agency conceded that more needs to be done to improve water quality.

At the meeting, councillors urged the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water to take a stronger approach to improving and regulating water quality while warning about the potential economic impacts on coastal tourism.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Tony Randerson said it was “absolutely diabolical” that “Britain’s first seaside town has such poor water quality”.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for open to business, Cllr Derek Bastiman, said: “It is obviously disappointing that the South Bay water quality has once again been designated as ‘poor’ and we fully understand the impact that this could have on Scarborough and local businesses.

“We will, as always, continue to encourage visitors to come and enjoy Scarborough as a destination and all it has to offer, as well as the whole of the Yorkshire coast in order to support our tourism businesses.

”This includes promoting the award-winning Blue Flag beaches of Scarborough North Bay and Whitby and the coveted seaside award beaches of Cayton Bay, Runswick Bay, Filey, Sandsend and Robin Hood’s Bay to ensure the Yorkshire coast continues to attract in excess of 10 million visitors that flock there annually.”

Cllr Bastiman added: “Our dedicated Business Growth Hub team are in the process of contacting businesses that are directly affected by the bathing water quality status to assess if any support can be provided.

“The water quality in South Bay has been an ongoing issue for a number of years and requires a multi-agency response.

"We remain involved in that process with Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.”