Sandgate Parish Council is delighted our application for Sandgate Granville Parade to become a designated bathing water has been successful. As of 15th May it is a designated bathing water.
Weekly Environment Agency Water quality testing will now take place during the summer there. Results will be reported on the Swiminfo website.
The official notification says:
“Defra recently conducted a national consultation on the proposal to designate new bathing water sites in England under the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, including Sandgate Granville Parade. DEFRA have now confirmed the designation has been approved. The site will be added to the list of bathing waters ahead of the start of the 2026 bathing season in May.
“Designation also means the site will be subject to regular testing via inclusion in the Environment Agency’s water quality monitoring programme from May 2026. A bathing water profile for the site will be available on the Swimfo website, giving bathers a clearer picture on water quality for public health.”
Beach Naming
The new bathing water will be called “Sandgate Granville Parade”. Granville Parade is the central point, although the beach extends a little way either side of that.
The beach previously called “Sandgate Beach” by Battery Point will now be officially called Seabrook Beach. This seems fitting, as it’s in Seabrook!
It will inherit the water quality rating previously ascribed to Sandgate, as that is where the water testing had, until now, taken place.
Bathing Water Profile for Sandgate Granville Parade.
Bathing Water Profile for Seabrook Beach.
Susan Claris, who Chairs Sandgate Parish Council’s Environment Committee and led the Council through the application process, said:
“I am delighted that Granville Parade in Sandgate has today been designated as a bathing water by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
“I would like to thank everyone who supported Sandgate Parish Council’s application last year. The support from residents, visitors, swimmers, organisations and people across the community including MP Tony Vaughan was critical.
“This means that the site will now have regular testing by the Environment Agency. We’ll have a bathing water profile giving information on water quality so that we can all enjoy this beach in the heart of our village.”
“We just couldn’t have done this on our own.”
Results we could trust
Sandgate Parish Council Chair, Tim Prater, added:
“We’re delighted! Getting this designation has been a long project, but the start was simple. We wanted to be able to trust that the water quality testing results from our main beach were reliable.
“When we found the water quality testing point was a mile away from where people mainly actually swim we could no longer rely on them. So we wanted testing where people swim. To get that, we needed to get our main beach designated.
“So that’s why we are where we are. And as of today, we have a designated bathing water. Testing will take place from where people actually swim. We can have some more confidence in those results.
“Thank you to all the local residents, Councillors especially Susan, and Parish Clerk Gaye, who have been involved in this application. They’ve done loads of work to get us here: it feels hugely worth it now.”