BLUE FLAGS FOR BEACHES
ENVIRONMENTAL charity Keep Britain Tidy has announced the winners of prestigious Blue Flag and Seaside Awards for 2021 – with the Westcountry picking up the most awards of any region in the country.
The South West – from the Scillies to the Dorset border – can boast 23 Blue Flags and 35 Seaside Awards, with many beaches flying both flags this summer. The Blue Flag winners include Carbis Bay – scene next month of the G7 Summit of world leaders –and North Devon’s Westward Ho! .
Among the Seaside Award winners – for beach management and water quality – are Sennen Cove, in West Cornwall and the beaches at Seaton in East Devon, Blackpool Sands in the South Hams and Paignton in Torbay.
The top quality of Westcountry beaches is expected to be particularly important to visitors this year with foreign holidays off limits for many as the world comes out of the coronavirus crisis.
Keep Britain Tidy group said: “This proves that you don’t need to jet off to Europe or even further afield to visit some of the best beaches in the world – they’re right here on our doorstep.”
The organisation points out that this year England can boast 76 Blue Flag beaches – recognised for their water quality – more than Brazil, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Israel, Malta, Mexico or South Africa. In addition there are 132 beaches that have received a Seaside Award and, for the first time in England, a Blue Flag marina – Royal Albert Dock and Salthouse Dock Marina in Liverpool, has been recognised.
The international Blue Flag and the UK Seaside Awards are the nation’s marks for beaches and mean those visiting them can be sure that they are clean, safe and meet the highest environmental standards, as well as the tough international bathing water quality standards.
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: “This year, more than ever, we are going to be relying on our country’s beautiful beaches to escape for a much-needed break.”
She went on “Thanks to the Blue Flag and Seaside Awards, those choosing to holiday in the South West near one of its award-winning beaches can be assured it will meet the highest standards.”