Protesters strip off for wild swimming demonstration

Protesters donning swimming caps and bathing suits held a mini rave outside City Hall.

Swimmers gathered for a ‘raving for bathing’ demonstration, to demand councillors address the issue of sewage pollution in the River Avon.

A petition, which has been signed by more than 5,000 people, was being debated at the full council meeting inside the building on Tuesday evening.

Swimmers danced outside Bristol City Council in support of the petition – photo: Rob Browne

The petition asks the council to address the issue of sewage pollution in the River Avon and to amend the 2009 bye-law prohibiting swimming.

Conham Bathing, the group behind the petition, has been preparing an application to Defra for Designated Bathing Water Status at Conham River Park and Eastwood Farm Nature Reserve.

Supporters argue that granting Conham River Park this status will require the Environment Agency to monitor the levels of sewage pollution at the site and be responsible for implementing improvement measures if the water is found to be of persistently poor quality.

The group needs the council’s permission to submit the application, as it is the landowner of the site.

However, the council has withheld support of their efforts due to city byelaws which prohibit swimming in the harbour, including the stretch of the Avon at Conham River Park.

Members from the group said: “We are now demanding the council amend this bye-law, so we can work towards enhancing and protecting the water quality in this treasured nature reserve, not only for public health, but for the river and the wildlife it supports.”

Members of Bristol’s Labour Group pledged their support for the petition at full council.

Katja Hornchen, Labour councillor for Brislington East – a ward which includes one-side of the river park – expressed support for the petition, but noted the dangers of swimming there and the obstacles to making swimming there safe.

She said: “By removing the by-law prohibiting swimming and giving this part of the river ‘Designated Bathing Water Status’, it would require the Environment Agency to monitor the water on a regular basis, and more importantly, if there is consistent pollution, investigate the perpetrators.

“However, I would like a note of caution, that the pollution in the river is not the only danger to swimmers, the riverbanks are steep, there are boats and the river is tidal. There is a lack of infrastructure to sustain the visitors, especially on the Eastwood Farm side, which causes stress to the wildlife and the local residents.

“We all know about the severe pressures to cities’ budgets and the lack of investment forced on us by austerity. But, it is my hope that lifting the ban would enable us to work with the local community groups in making the spot a safer place to swim, boat and enjoy a day out.”

Green councillor for Bedminster, Tessa Fitzjohn also expressed support for the petition at full council: “This petition… would require the Environment Agency (EA) to closely monitor and report water quality/bacterial levels at Conham so people could then make their own choice about whether it’s safe to swim or not.

“Surely that’s only right? The health benefits (mental and physical) of wild swimming are well recognised and it is already being promoted by doctors through ‘social prescribing”.

The issue of wild swimming is increasingly on the council’s agenda. A film by Swim Bristol Harbour, which premiered at Watershed last weekend, showed how Bristol could copy the Danish city of Copenhagen by installing an artificial lido in the Cumberland Basin.

Main photo: Rob Browne

Read next:

• ‘Education not prohibition should be the answer to wild swimming’
• The group fighting to end sewage pollution in beloved Bristol swimming spot
• 10 fresh water wild swimming spots near Bristol
• Swimmers return for Cumberland Basin protest dip
• New documentary exposes dire reality of UK’s waterways

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