8 Jul 2011
Keep Wales Tidy yesterday celebrated a successful year for Wales’s beaches. At a ceremony in Whitmore Bay, John Griffiths, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, officially launched the Blue Flag Award.
This year, 41 beaches and five marinas in Wales have been awarded the prestigious award which recognises venues for their cleanliness, with a guarantee to visitors that venues are litter free, have excellent facilities and have achieved a high standard of water quality. The beach will also have local environmental information on display educating locals and visitors about important wildlife and habitats in the area.
The Blue Flag Programme is owned and run by the independent non-profit organisation Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and run in Wales by Keep Wales Tidy.
Earlier this week, Blue Flag award-winner Port Eynon Bay in Swansea was named as Britain’s best beach, winning the Cadbury Flake 99 Great British Beach Awards.
(left to right: John Griffiths AM, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development; Lesley Jones, Chief Executive for Keep Wales Tidy; Councillor Gordon Kemp; Jane Hutt AM)
At the ceremony, the Minister lifted the flag for Whitmore Bay and presented flags to representatives of local authorities from across Wales. Beach manager Colin Smith and Councillor Gordon Kemp from Vale of Glamorgan Council were also present.
The Minister commented:
"It’s great news that once again beaches around Wales have won these highly regarded flags. As a keen sea swimmer myself it is encouraging to know water quality is good around Wales's coast. Our beaches are wonderful places for us to enjoy and they play an important role in supporting our valuable tourism industry. These flags recognise the many people who work so hard to keep our beaches clean, tidy and a pleasure to visit.
"In Wales we are blessed with a beautiful coastline and next year people will be able to walk the length of our coastline when the Wales Coast Path opens in May."
Lesley Jones, Chief Executive for Keep Wales Tidy, who welcomed the newly appointed Minister, commented:
"Today’s celebration at Whitmore Bay and Port Eynon Bay’s recent success is evidence that our Blue Flag beaches are a great source of pride for Wales. Now is the perfect opportunity for Welsh holidaymakers to stay at home, boosting the local economy and tourism industry. I hope that we can continue to enjoy our natural surroundings by working together to maintain these high environmental standards."
For more information about Blue Flag beaches and for a list of this year's winners, click here.