Bude once again celebrates three Blue Flags for its beaches in 2024, resuting in us having three of the nine Blue Flags awarded across the whole of Cornwall!
Bude has done the triple! Three of our much-loved beaches – Widemouth Bay, Crooklets, and Summerleaze have been awarded both the prestigious Blue Flag and Seaside Awards.
The Blue Flag is an internationally recognised award, with just 77 beaches in the UK awarded the highest standard required, Bude has achieved this for three beaches within a three mile stretch.
It really is great news for the town and its tourism industry because much of our local economy relies on the popularity of Bude as a destination for fabulous beaches and the natural environment. As BATB said “We’re a tourist town and to have our excellent beaches recognised benefits everyone”.
Among the criteria beaches are assessed against in order to achieve a Blue Flag Status are:
- Safety and services, such as first aid, lifeguards where necessary.
- Environmental information, including displaying details about local eco systems.
- Water quality – Blue Flag beaches must meet the ‘excellent’ water quality standard as set out in the EU bathing water directive and Seaside Award winners must meet the ‘sufficient’ standard.
- Environmental management, including litter and waste.
It’s with huge thanks to the local community groups and council who work hard together to ensure that our beaches are clean, our open spaces are looked after, we have bins and litter collection, we educate visitors and locals about the beach environment and we all play our part in striving for an excellent sustainable tourism destination.
However, there is one aspect of the award that we cannot control – water quality. We know there is a lot more to be done to improve water quality and manage the impact of heavy rainfall which can cause run off and sewer overflow into the ocean.
By working with all the local community groups and responsible authorities such as South West Water, we are creating a manifesto for local stakeholders to get behind, which we will use to lobby and raise awareness.
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