Swimming status of Ilkley’s River Wharfe in limbo over sewage pollution

A stretch of the river in West Yorkshire was the first to be given bathing water status in 2020 but has since recorded poor water quality

The first river to be given bathing water status in England is in limbo waiting for the Environment Agency (EA) to approve crucial nature-based solutions that are part of £43m in improvements to cut sewage pollution.

In the West Yorkshire town of Ilkley, campaigners were the first to use the EU-derived bathing water regulations to drive a cleanup of their river. But since part of the River Wharfe was granted bathing water status in 2020, water quality has persistently been recorded as poor, most recently in the latest classifications last month. If it remains poor next year, when the status is up for renewal, it could lose its bathing water designation.