Beach among best in Britain loses prestigious status over water quality concerns

One of the UK's most celebrated beaches has missed out on a prestigious Blue Flag following water quality worries. Tenby's North Beach was absent from the list of beaches awarded the status, which featured the Pembrokeshire town's South Beach and Castle Beach. Keep Wales Tidy confirmed Tenby's beloved North Beach did not apply for, and was therefore not awarded, a Blue Flag Award in the 2026 Wales Coast Awards. This follows a decline in water quality from 'excellent' to 'good'. North Beach also lost the accolade in 2022 and 2023 for identical reasons after more than 25 consecutive years of being hailed as one of Wales' finest beaches. Granted by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) the Blue Flag is amongst the world's most recognised accolades, demanding beaches and marinas meet strict criteria guaranteeing the beach or marina is clean, safe, and well-managed, championing sustainability and drawing visitors, reports Wales Online . Natural Resources Wales is presently investigating the cause behind the deterioration in water quality but a reason has not yet been identified. Tenby has previously been named the UK's "best" seaside town . Owen Derbyshire, chief executive of Keep Wales Tidy, said the development was extremely disappointing and the organisation is dedicated to collaborating with authorities throughout Wales to help North Beach restore its water quality and reclaim its Blue Flag status. He commented: "Like many people in Wales Tenby's North Beach holds happy memories for me and I share the sadness of all those who will be disappointed by this news. It is an important local beauty spot and key tourist attraction and the announcement will come as a blow to local residents, business owners who rely on tourism and, of course, the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit the beach every year." He went on to note that a 'good' standard of water quality means North Beach remains among the top-ranking beaches in Wales, while praising everyone involved in overseeing the other aspects of the award, including sustainability and delivering the finest quality visitor experience, "which are all essential factors in a coastal location gaining a Blue Flag Award," he stated. He continued: "Wales is lucky to have some of the best beaches in the world . But that doesn't happen by accident. We need clear policy and a renewed commitment to ensure our coastline retains its high standards of cleanliness and effective management so that they continue to attract tourists and remain well-used by local people for generations to come." A Welsh Water spokesman remarked: "At North Tenby the classification moved from excellent to good following the results of samples taken during July and August. These samples are collected by NRW and test for two different types of bacteria. These bacteria can originate from a range of environmental sources and it is important to note that there were no storm overflow spills in this area in the weeks leading up to the dates those samples were taken. "Improving water quality is a shared challenge and progress will only come through coordinated action across sectors. Factors such as rural land use, urban runoff, industry, soil erosion, illegal misconnections, and private septic systems all play a part. "We are committed to playing our role. We are currently investing more than £2.3m a day to improve our services including £2.5bn between 2025 and 2030 to deliver environmental improvements across Wales."