MP concerned by sluggish improvement in Bathing Water Quality

The MP for South Shropshire says more action is needed to improve bathing water quality in the River Teme at Ludlow.

Stuart Anderson says the site upstream of Dinham Bridge has been rated “poor” for a second year running.

He’s urging the government to step up efforts after figures showed hundreds of thousands of sewage discharges into England’s waters last year.

The MP said: "Our bathing waters in South Shropshire bring so much joy to both residents and visitors. So, I am greatly concerned that raw sewage was discharged into England’s rivers and seas almost 300,000 times last year, while there were more than 1.87 million hours of sewage spills. The latest classifications also show that one in seven English bathing sites are still polluted, with only 87% meeting standards for ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ classification. Although this is a slight improvement on 2024’s classifications, it has fallen from 90% in 2023. Sadly, it includes the bathing site upstream of Dinham Bridge at the River Teme in Ludlow, which has been classified as ‘poor’ for a second year. This is despite huge efforts from the community and local partners to improve bathing water quality at the site. I have urged the government to intensify efforts to improve the quality of our bathing waters.”

A new monitoring pilot is now tracking water quality daily.