The Department for Food Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has released the 2024 bathing water classifications, and it’s good news for the Bay.

14 of our 15 beaches have achieved an ‘Excellent’ rating. This is the highest possible rating and marks an improvement on last year’s ratings. In 2023, 11 of our 15 bathing beaches achieved an ‘Excellent' rating.

Notably, Hollicombe Beach and Paignton Sands improved from a ‘Good’ rating to ‘Excellent’. Watcombe Beach also achieved an ‘Excellent’ rating. Watcombe Beach was not sampled in 2023 as access was closed due to safety concerns after severe weather. Additionally, Goodrington Beach has improved from a ‘Satisfactory’ rating, to ‘Good’.

Ratings are awarded by the Environment Agency, who monitor the quality of bathing water to make sure regulations are being followed. DEFRA is legally required to publish the Environment Agency’s annual findings and classifications.

Water samples are taken by DEFRA throughout the summer season to produce an annual bathing water classification. The last four years' worth of data are used to make a rating.

DEFRA test beaches yearly and the official statistics are available online. This year’s results can be found on the government’s website.