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Woodbridge River Deben campaigners to resubmit bid for bathing status

Save the Deben Ruth Leach, left, and Caroline PageSave the Deben
Save the Deben founders Ruth Leach, left, and Caroline Page hosted a consultation event in Woodbridge on Saturday

A campaign group said it would resubmit its bid for bathing water status for a stretch of river.

Save the Deben had called for two stretches of the river in Suffolk to be granted designated bathing status.

The government said a stretch at Woodbridge did not meet the criteria, but one at Waldringfield did.

Ruth Leach, from Save the Deben, said the group was encouraged by the public support it received by at its first consultation event.

The group held the event in Woodbridge on Saturday as part of Earth Day celebrations.

Woodbridge
Woodbridge sits on the River Deben, about three miles upstream from Waldringfield

Ms Leach, one of the co-founders of Save the Deben, said it wanted to resubmit the application, but improve upon it, because "the problem has not gone away".

"The water is still polluted," she said.

"I can't walk away and I can't leave it because nothing has changed."

Save the Deben A member of the public signing his name in favour of the reapplication for bathing water status for WoodbridgeSave the Deben
Members of the public signed their names in support of the bid

Ms Leach said more than 100 people signed in support of its bid on Saturday, and that it would be holding a number of consultation events over the summer.

It will submit its new application in October.

Waldringfield
Waldringfield was one of four sites in England to be granted bathing water status

Campaigners say 58 swimmers a day were counted in the river at Woodbridge during last summer's heatwave, showing it was "still clearly a bathing area".

It is also used by hundreds of dinghy sailors, paddleboarders, kayakers and anglers, they say.

Local studies showed levels of the bacteria E. coli in the Deben "way above" government guidelines.

If it is designated a bathing site, the Environment Agency will regularly monitor water quality to give swimmers a clearer picture and to assess whether action is needed on pollution.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it considered how many people bathed there, if the site had suitable infrastructure and facilities, such as toilets, and where investment in water quality improvements would have the most impact.

Waldringfield is one of four sites in England - with two in Rutland and another in Plymouth - that will be designated as bathing waters from next month.

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