There is no shortage of concern about the state of the River Nidd, as a busy public meeting in Knaresborough demonstrated this week.

About 70 people turned up at Gracious Street Methodist Church on Tuesday to listen to academics, anglers, environmentalists and politicians and to find out how they could get involved in the attempt to achieve bathing water status.

Just two rivers in England — the Wharfe in Ilkley and Wolvercote Mill Stream in Oxfordshire — currently have bathing water status, which obliges the Environment Agency to put plans in place to monitor and protect the water.

Nidd Action Group has been set up to coordinate the initiative.

James McKay, a Knaresborough resident and manager of the Water-Wiser centre at the University of Leeds, told the Stray Ferret at last week’s meeting Nidd sampling had begun and the campaign had the funds and expertise to achieve its goal.

Mr McKay said the group needed to demonstrate enough people used the river recreationally for the campaign to be successful.

James McKay speaking at the meeting

He said the process of achieving bathing water status wasn’t easy but “it’s the only thing we can do to make a real difference to water companies”.

Mr McKay said water companies were obliged in 2023 to update their water resource management plans for the next five years and the goal was to achieve bathing water status by then. He added:

“If we succeed it won’t have an immediate effect. The first thing that would happen is Yorkshire Water would have to do its own sampling. But over the next couple of years it could start to make a big difference.”

Untreated sewage

Although Knaresborough Lido is the focus of the campaign, if bathing water status is achieved it would bring improvements to the upper reaches of the 56-mile Nidd, including around Pateley Bridge, which flow into the Lido.

Alan Paterson addressing the meeting 

Alan Paterson, of Nidd Action Group, told the meeting the three main causes of river pollution were sewage, agricultural contaminants and urban run-off. He said the first two were the main issues affecting the Nidd.

In 2021, Yorkshire Water pumped untreated sewage from 81 locations into the River Nidd 2,552 times – for 18,346 hours, or 764 days.

Mr Paterson said Yorkshire Water’s plans to clean-up the Nidd were “good but would take far too long” and bathing water status would oblige it to act sooner.

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has led on the campaign to achieve bathing water status and has been looking for volunteers to undertake surveys before he can submit an application. He has also raised the matter in Parliament.

Mr Jones wasn’t at the meeting but Stephen Culpin, a member of his office, was. Mr Culpin said afterwards the intention was to finalise and submit the application by the end of October.

Mr Jones (left) with Frank Maguire, the owner of Knareborough Lido.

The government’s record on sewage discharge has been fiercely debated. Mr Paterson said declining funding to key regulators such as the Environment Agency suggested ministers did not take the issue that seriously but he added that although the action group was “entirely apolitical”, Mr Jones deserved praise for his efforts.

“If he gets some brownie points then fair play to him because we need that bathing water status to improve the quality of water Yorkshire Water is discharging. I’d be deliriously happy if my MP, Julian Smith (the Conservative for Skipton and Ripon) got involved but he hasn’t.”

Mr Paterson added “rivers should be safe and clean to play and bathe in — it’s a right, not a privilege” and people attending the meeting were encouraged to volunteer by undertaking roles such as counting river users.

Wild swimming

Numerous groups attended the meeting but some river users, such as wild swimmers and kayakers, weren’t and some felt the campaign still needed joining-up more.

But the turnout and enthusiasm generated widespread optimism that people might soon be able to swim in the Nidd without a high risk of falling ill, as happened last summer.

Tuesday’s meeting at Gracious Street Methodist Church

Shan Oakes, a Knaresborough town councillor and member of Harrogate and District Green Party said:

“It was a hugely successful event and I feel confident that more like it will follow, bringing the community together to try to stop the pollution and bring back life to our lovely river.”

Yorkshire Water ‘keen to work in partnership’

Two days after the meeting, councillors on North Yorkshire County Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee questioned a representative of Yorkshire Water as the issue of bathing water status was aired again.

Monika Slater, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Bilton Grange and New Park, told the meeting Leeds University researchers were now taking Nidd samples monthly and this would increase to fortnightly in May.

But she added the samples had so far discovered the harmful bacteria E. coli was at “concerningly high” levels.

Bilton Conservation Society is also sampling at Oak Beck, which empties in the Nidd at Bilton.

Sarah Robinson, from the corporate affairs team at Yorkshire Water, told the meeting:

“There are lots of influences on bathing water quality. It isn’t just about our assets — in some ways that would be easier because we could control that. “

The big issue for the Nidd, Ms Robinson added, was going to be agriculture, such as chemical run-off caused by farmers’ sprays. Dogs running in water also had “a massive impact”, she added. But she said the company was “very keen to work in partnership” to address problems.

The next six months will determine whether the good intentions, and the disparate interests, can be harnessed to achieve real change for the Nidd.

Organisations have agreed to work together to achieve designated bathing water status on the River Nidd at Knaresborough.

Longstanding concerns about water quality were heightened in summer when people and dogs fell ill after entering the Nidd.

If the bathing water bid is successful, the Environment Agency would be obliged to put plans in place to monitor and protect the water.

Not a single waterway in North Yorkshire currently has bathing water status but the River Wharfe in Ilkley has achieved it.

Knaresborough has been chosen because of the amount of  recreational river users it attracts, but if the campaign succeeds the rest of the Nidd would also benefit from the measures introduced.

Anglers, the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, Nidderdale AONB, Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, Leeds University, councillors and Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, are among those involved after a meeting this month.

They must demonstrate the river attracts a large number of bathers and has support for such a move. Landowners must also support applications for privately owned sites.

Shan Oakes

Shan Oakes, a Green Party councillor in Knaresborough chairing the group, said the government was not setting high enough water quality standards and action was necessary. Ms Oakes, who is also on Knaresborough Town Council, added:

“It’s not going to be a quick fix. We need to consult with a lot of groups.”

Read more:

• Meeting called to hear concerns about state of River Nidd
• UK’s largest weir removal project begins on River Nidd at Scotton

Last week Hannah Gostlow, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough East on North Yorkshire County Council, agreed to chair a cross-party sub-group of the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee that will examine the issue. She said:

“We are well placed to achieve this but we need the support of the community and the town council.”

Knaresborough lido, which is particularly popular with recreational river users, will probably be the focus of the campaign. Cllr Gostlow said:

“The river plays a big part in the local economy but people are getting ill so we need to do something.”

She added she hoped the campaign might succeed by summer 2024.

Action by anglers