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The awards  recognise and celebrate country’s best beaches as international Blue Flag celebrates its 36th year

Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy has today announced the winners of the prestigious Blue Flag and Seaside Awards for summer 2023, and among them is Weymouth Beach!

This year Weymouth Beach met the high standard required to be awarded the Blue Flag and Seaside Award.

Cllr Kate Wheller, Mayor of Weymouth, said: “I am very proud to see Weymouth once again retain the prestigious Blue Flag and Seaside Award, and I am grateful to our staff who work so hard to maintain these incredibly high standards.

“Visitors are already booking Weymouth as the destination for their summer holiday. These awards are why visitors have returned to our coastline over generations and give confidence to those visiting us for the first time. They know they are choosing to visit one of the safest and cleanest beaches anywhere in the UK.”

Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, added: “Visitors to a beach flying a Blue Flag or Seaside Award can be assured the beach will be clean, safe and meet the highest environmental standards, as well as international bathing water quality standards.

“The Blue Flag is the world’s most recognised award for beaches and marinas and, to qualify, each applicant must meet and maintain a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria.

“We’d therefore like to recognise and applaud all those who have worked so hard to protect and improve some of our best-loved and most popular beaches. The collective efforts of beach managers, volunteers, residents and businesses all contribute to the success of these sites in achieving the incredibly high standards demanded.”

The Blue Flag and Seaside Awards are aimed at improving the quality of England’s coastline and promoting the country’s best beaches.

Blue Flag is an international award managed by Keep Britain Tidy on behalf of the Foundation for Environmental Education. It is only presented to well-managed beaches with water quality defined as ‘excellent’ under the EU Bathing Water Directive and environmental education programmes, while Seaside Awards are presented to the best beaches in England and celebrate the quality and diversity of our coastline.

Among the criteria beaches are assessed against 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.