Swimming: Water
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Designate a bathing water: guidance on how to apply, updated on 15 May 2025, for what reason applications cannot include organised swim events.
Answered by Emma Hardy
As per the criteria set out on GOV.UK, for a site to be eligible for designation as a bathing water, it must be used by an average of at least 100 bathers a day during the bathing season (15 May to 30 September). User surveys must be taken at a site to evidence this.
An organised swim event is likely to result in an unusually high number of bathers for that day and therefore would not provide a fair reflection of the number of bathers per day during the bathing season.
The application guidance will continue to be reviewed for suitability.
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