Application form in relation to the designation of a bathing water under the Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008

Application form in relation to the designation of a bathing water under the Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008

Please provide your application by email to bathingwaters@sepa.org.uk by 30 September for consideration for designation the following year.

Checklist

Item	Yes/No
Users Survey
Letter of support from the Local Authority/Authorities
Letter of support from the landowner(s) (if applicable)
Evidence of Local Consultation
Information about beach management, infrastructure/facilities provided, promotion of bathing and past trends at the site

Section 1 Applicant Details

Contact Name
Organisation

Section 2 Location of proposed bathing water (see note 1)

Name of proposed bathing water
Address
Local Authority Area
National Grid Reference

Section 3 Ownership of proposed bathing water

Are you the Owner ?	Y/N
Are you the Leaseholder?	Y/N

Section 4 Support for the application (note 2)

Is the application supported by the local authority?	Y/N
Is the application supported by the owner or leaseholder?	Y/N

Section 5 User Survey for Beaches or River Channels (see note 3)

Please provide evidence of numbers of bathers and water users. Include people both swimming and paddling as bathers. If the application is for a stretch of river, please provide evidence of numbers of bathers in the river channel area. The river channel includes any gravel or sand banks in the channel but does not include people on the banks. See note 3 below for the types of information which should be submitted with your application to provide evidence of the details you enter in the table below.

Name and organisation of people who undertook survey
Survey	Date	Start and end time	Bathers (paddling or swimming)	Other water users	Beach users (not require for rivers)	Weather
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Please include, where relevant, details of any organised events.

Date	Annual Event/ festival name

Section 6 Facilities at the bathing area (see note 4)

Facilities present at the site that support and promote bathing	Assessment	Detail
Public toilets	Y/N
Changing facilities	Y/N
Parking provision	Y/N
Regular public transport links to the beach	Y/N
Lifeguards	Y/N
First aid service	Y/N
Cafes/shops/kiosks	Y/N
Regular beach cleaning	Y/N
Markers indication bathing areas	Y/N
Bathing promotional material (leaflets/signs/website)	Y/N
Beach or seaside award
Other (not listed above)

Section 7 Evidence of local consultation (see note 5)

How have local views been taken into account in relation to the proposed designation?

Notes

Note 1

Include a map showing the extent of the proposed bathing water, marking facilities specifically appropriate for bathers. The proposed bathing water should be the area used by a large number of bathers.

Note 2

Include any written support from local authorities and the site’s owner, if you are not the site owner. Written support from the local authority should be at an appropriate level of seniority, for example the CEO and it should state that they accept the responsibilities as detailed below:

are required to display publicly-accessible signage at bathing waters showing information from SEPA oni;

the water quality classification

a general description of the bathing water, and

information indicating if the bathing water is likely to be subject to short term pollution.

are responsible for keeping amenity beaches - those areas of beach adjoining an identified bathing water - free from litter under the Environmental Protection Act 1990ii

when required by SEPA perform beach management duties as outlined in the Bathing Waters Regulations such as;

posting temporary signage in the case of a pollution event or blue-green algae presence

removing materials on beach which are risks to health

must consider the provision of appropriate infrastructure (such as public transport provision, parking and toilets).

i The Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008, Regulation 8 Public Information. The local authority must ensure that information about a bathing water, as specified in the Regulations and provided by SEPA, is available during the bathing season on a publicly accessible sign, for which the local authority is responsible for erection, maintenance, and update.

ii The Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008, Regulation 16 Management measures at bathing waters affected by other pollution. When pollution takes the form of tarry residues, glass, plastic, rubber or any waste, the local authority must take such action as is necessary in order to remedy or mitigate the effect of the pollution within 7 days of becoming aware of it.

Note 3

Under the Bathing Water (Scotland) Regulations 2008, Scottish Ministers designate bathing waters where they expect a large number of people to bathe, having regard to past trends and infrastructure and facilities provided, or other measures taken to promote bathing. Generally around 150 people per day using the water for bathing regularly throughout the season would likely be considered a ‘large’ number of bathers;, however Scottish Ministers have discretion as to what would be a large number and could in some circumstances designate a bathing water where fewer than 150 bathers are expected per day.

You need to provide spot surveys of users which have been carried out:

for a minimum of 10 days.

at regular intervals throughout the typical bathing season (1st June to 15th September)

at peak use times (such as weekends, bank holidays and school holidays).

At the time of day when the highest numbers of users would be expected (e.g. warmest part of the day, 11am-3pm).

Regular annual events and beach festivals can be included in the spot surveys and you should indicate on which survey day the event occurred and give the name of the event. However, you should not undertake spot surveys on days where one off organised events, such as beach festivals are planned.

User counts should be well-evidenced by photography and/or drone footage, showing the whole area where most people bathe and demonstrating large numbers of bathers. One or two photos, labelled with date and location, should be submitted per day of the survey taken at the busiest time of day. Photography and drone footage should be taken far enough away so that people cannot be identified.

In relation to rivers, riverbank users are not required to be recorded, only those in the water.

In relation to beaches, reasonable judgement should be made about those who count as a bather. A person thought to have the intent to swim/ paddle and moving towards or away from the water should be counted as a bather. Those who are unlikely to access the water to bathe (i.e. dog walkers or those picnicking) should not be counted. Other users in the water should include those kayaking, boating, etc. Each bather should be counted only once, therefore anyone re-entering the water should not be counted again.

Note 4

Details entered in the table should include a general description of the facility (e.g. location, frequency of services, operating hours etc).

If there is beach cleaning and life guarding, please indicate who provides these services.

If there is car parking, please indicate the number of spaces and whether they are paid or free of charge.

Note 5

Please submit details of the local consultation that has been undertaken including;

how the consultation was conducted,

who has been consulted,

how many responses were received,

the range of responses,

how you ensured a cross-section of opinions were captured.

All written responses/comments to the consultation should be collated into one document. A copy of the consultation document and a copy of the document with the consultation response should be provided with your application form.

Interested groups for the purpose of a consultation might be:

Bathers

Relevant local authority

Land owner(s) (if relevant)

Other water users

Owners and operators of nearby waterside businesses e.g. cafes/shops

Community council

Local tourist offices

Local residents

Local environmental groups

Experts in safety for outdoor swimming