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The local winners of the international Blue Flag Award and the UK-wide Seaside Award have been revealed for 2024. 

Five council areas have been rewarded for their work in maintaining environmental excellence. 

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful announced that 9 beaches and 7 marinas earned the prestigious Blue Flag Award distinction after meeting world-class standards in criteria such as safety, accessibility, cleanliness, environmental education and, for beaches, water quality. 

The local success does not end with the Blue Flag. A further 6 beaches received Seaside Awards, the UK’s mark of quality that ensures visitors are guaranteed to find a clean, safe, attractive, and well-managed coastal stretch. 

Dr Ian Humphreys, CEO of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful said: 

‘We are incredibly pleased to see so many local beaches and marinas have been successful at this year’s awards. Each flag shows the public that these are sites worth visiting and cherishing. Keeping our beaches tidy is essential to our environmental and economic future. 

I want to thank the many workers across winning sites who helped make this happen. Their work is critically important in making Northern Ireland a place with the best European beaches and marinas.’ 

The Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir said: “I am delighted that once again so many of Northern Ireland’s beaches have received the coveted Blue Flag and Seaside Awards, and that our first-class marinas have also been recognised. These awards are a testament to the hard work and dedication of those who manage our beaches. The awards let our citizens and people around the world know that Northern Ireland is open for business and that our beaches and marinas are clean, well-managed and safe to enjoy.” 

Mayors from across councils, and beach and marina operators were invited to collect the awards at a presentation ceremony at the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle, on 7th May. The occasion was organised by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, who manage the accreditations locally.  

This year’s awards ceremony was sponsored by the Slieve Donard Hotel, and supported by DAERA. 

The award-winning locations will now have their respective flags in place for the Northern Ireland bathing season, which runs from 01 June to 15 September. 

Notes to editors

Blue Flag Beach Award winners – Benone Beach, Castlerock Beach, Cranfield Bay, Downhill Strand, Murlough Beach, Portrush East Strand Beach, Portrush West Strand Beach, Tyrella Beach, Whiterocks Beach. 

Blue Flag Marina Award winners –Ballycastle Marina, Ballyronan Marina, Bangor Marina, Belfast Harbour Marina; Coleraine Marina, Portrush Harbour and Marina, Rathlin Marina. 

Seaside Award winners – Ballycastle Beach, Ballywalter South Beach, Cloughey Beach, Groomsport Beach, Millisle Beach, Waterfoot

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful is a charity working towards the vision of a world where people and nature thrive, by running environmental-education programmes and awareness-raising campaigns, increasing volunteering opportunities and reporting on local environmental quality. Programmes include the national civic-pride campaign Live Here Love Here, Tackling Plastic NI, Tackling Textiles, Carbon Literacy training, and local environmental quality programmes, such as Eco-Schools NI, Blue Flag Award, Seaside Award, Green Flag Award, Cleaner Neighbourhoods and Marine Litter surveys. For more information, visit www.keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org. 

DAERA Marine and Fisheries Division monitors Northern Ireland’s bathing water quality during the bathing season, which runs from 1 June through 15 September. During this time, water quality is assessed on 20 different occasions at each location.  The DAERA water quality assessment is used to determine which award is applicable.  The Blue Flag requires ‘Excellent’ status whereas the Seaside Award requires at least ‘Sufficient’ under the Bathing Water Regulations. 

Five council areas rewarded for excellent environmental management

The local winners of the international Blue Flag Award and the UK-wide Seaside Award have been revealed for 2023. 

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful announced that 18 beaches and marinas at home earned the prestigious Blue Flag Award distinction after reaching world-class standards in criteria that includes water quality, safety, accessibility, cleanliness and environmental education.

A further nine beaches received Seaside Awards, the UK’s mark of quality that ensures visitors are guaranteed to find a clean, safe, attractive and well-managed coastal stretch. Seven Seaside Award sites returned excellent water-quality results, while two more rated as good, the second highest classification in this area.

The benchmarks for blue spaces were shared across councils, with Causeway Coast and Glens claiming 12 awards and Mid and East Antrim landing three Blue Flags and three Seaside Awards. 

There were also five flags for aquatic spots in Ards and North Down, and three wins for beaches in Newry, Mourne and Down. Ballyronan Marina in Mid Ulster retained its Blue Flag status for the 14th consecutive year.

Dr Ian Humphreys, CEO of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful said:

"We are extremely pleased that 27 beaches and marinas have achieved either a Blue Flag Award or Seaside Award. Each flag is a symbol that these special places are managed to an excellent standard and an important trust signal to the public that they can expect a high-quality experience when they visit one of these award-winning sites.

"At a time when budgets are tight and difficult decisions are never far away, we want to thank councils and other organisations for continuing to invest in our beaches and marinas that are much loved and valued by tourists and people at home alike."

Owen Lyttle, DAERA’s Director of Marine and Fisheries said “We are delighted to see so many beaches and marinas awarded for their excellent environmental management. The assessment of water quality is a core component of these Awards and highlights that Northern Ireland continues to have some of the cleanest beaches and marinas in the world. We will keep working with all those who help to manage these valuable blue spaces to ensure that Northern Ireland continues to have beaches and marinas we can be proud of.”

Beach and marina operators and Mayors from across councils were invited to collect the awards at a presentation ceremony in The Arcadia, Portrush on 25 May. The occasion was organised by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, who manage the accreditations locally. 

The award-winning locations will now have their respective flags in place for the duration of the Northern Ireland bathing season, which runs from 01 June to 15 September.

To see the full list of Blue Flag Award and Seaside Award winners, visit www.keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org

Ends

Notes for editors

1. Blue Flag Beach Award winners – Benone Beach, Castlerock Beach, Cranfield Bay, Downhill Beach, Murlough Beach, Portrush East Strand Beach, Portrush West Strand Beach, Tyrella Beach, Whiterocks Beach.

2. Blue Flag Marina Award winners – Blue Flag Award Marinas winners – Ballycastle Marina, Ballyronan Marina, Bangor Marina, Carrickfergus Marina, Coleraine Marina, Glenarm Marina, Portglenone Marina, Portrush Harbour and Marina, Rathlin Marina.

3. Seaside Award winners – Ballycastle Beach, Ballygally Beach, Ballywalter South Beach, Brown's Bay Beach, Carnlough Beach, Cloughey Beach, Groomsport Beach, Millisle Beach, Waterfoot Beach.

4. Northern Ireland’s bathing water quality is monitored by DAERA Marine and Fisheries Division during the bathing season. The bathing season runs from 01 June through to 15 September, during which time water quality is assessed on 20 different occasions at each location.

5. Bathing water is monitored at 26 sites in Northern Ireland, with results classified as excellent, good, sufficient or poor.

6. In 2023, 18 out of 26 bathing-water sites received either a Blue Flag Award or Seaside Award

7. Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful is a charity working towards the vision of a world where people and nature thrive, by running environmental-education programmes and awareness-raising campaigns, increasing volunteering opportunities and reporting on local environmental quality. Programmes include the national civic-pride campaign Live Here Love Here, Tackling Plastic NI, Tackling Textiles, Carbon Literacy training, and local environmental quality programmes, such as Eco-Schools NI, Blue Flag Award, Seaside Award, Green Flag Award, Cleaner Neighbourhoods and Marine Litter surveys. For more information, visit www.keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org.

For further information about the Blue Flag Award and Seaside Award, please contact Claire Irwin at claire.irwin@keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful have announced 25 of the best beaches and marinas at their annual beach and marina awards. The event also highlighted the work of the EU SWIM project on bathing water quality monitoring

Beach and Marina Operators received 13 national and 12 international awards for excellence in facilities, environmental management, environmental education, accessibility and water quality.

The internationally renowned Blue Flag will be flown at 8 of Northern Ireland’s beaches and 4 marinas during the 2019 season. The Blue Flag award is certified by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and has 45 participating countries. In 2019 Blue Flags have been awarded to 4,560 beaches, marinas and boats worldwide. Beach and marina operators receiving a Blue Flag are demonstrating their commitment to protecting the coastal environment, excellent water quality, safety, and providing access for all. Fun educational activities are also available at these sites.

The Seaside Award is the national standard for beaches across the UK. This programme ensures visitors of a clean, safe, attractive and well-managed beach with the facilities provided being appropriate for the location of the beach. Twelve beaches have received the Seaside Award in 2019 and they can be identified by the Seaside Award Flag or Plaque.

The Blue Flag and Seaside Awards may only be flown if all the criteria are successfully met and maintained throughout the summer season.

One of Northern Ireland’s beaches, Helens Bay, received the Green Coast Award, which recognises an agreement between the operator and the local community to protect and promote a natural beach environment rather than developing visitor infrastructure. Green Coast Award beaches can also be found in the Republic of Ireland and in Wales, but due to their more natural state, may not be flying a flag.

Northern Ireland’s coastline has some iconic sights, and many of our award winning beaches include or are next to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty with specially protected habitats and species forming a large part of the experience visitors enjoy. The aim of these award programmes is to improve the connection between people and their surroundings by encouraging them to spend more time in and learn more about their coastal environment. Most award winning beaches and marinas provide information points to showcase the best of Northern Ireland’s wildlife and provide visitors with information on how they can enjoy these natural wonders without disturbing or damaging them.

Information on all the award winning beaches and marinas can be found at www.beachni.com or by picking up an award winning beaches and marinas leaflet from your nearest Tourist Information Centre.

The awards were presented on 30th May 2019, in time for the bathing season, which runs from 1st June until the 15th September each year. The awards event also provided an update on the work of the EU SWIM Project on bathing water quality monitoring.

Ian Humphreys, Chief Executive of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, said “For your health, for good old fashioned ‘screen free’ fun and for helping us realise the wonder of our natural environment, it is hard to beat a visit to our coast or lough shores. Behind every enjoyable experience is a small team of committed beach and marina operators who toil year round to keep these places in pristine condition. These awards are one way of recognising their ongoing dedication and of course advertising the best very places to take a holiday.”

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful is also one of the partners of the EU SWIM Project (System for Bathing Water Quality Monitoring). It is a cross-border research project funded by the INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body, which is in the final stages of developing a system for live bathing water monitoring. The EU SWIM Project combines the expertise of lead partner University College Dublin and partners, Agri-Food Bioscience Institute and Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful. The development of a bathing water quality prediction model uses the data collected by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, (DAERA) Marine and Fisheries Division and directly links into software to support the collection of data and delivery of information to the public.

Ian Humphreys added:

“The addition of the EU SWIM bathing water quality app will complement the Beach and Marina awards by ensuring the public are informed of the water quality status at the nine beaches being monitored across Northern Ireland and the Republic. The app that is being developed will provide peace of mind to bathers in the future that the water is of sufficient quality before they visit the beach. The app will be refined during the 2019 season. ”

DAERA currently monitors 26 identified bathing water sites across Northern Ireland on a weekly basis during the bathing season and is also contributing to the EU SWIM Project.

David Small Deputy Secretary (Environment, Marine and Fisheries Group) commented:

“I am delighted that so many of Northern Ireland’s beaches have received the coveted Blue Flag, Seaside and Green Coast Awards. These awards and the recognition that our first-class marinas have received, are testament to the hard work and dedication of those who manage our beaches and marinas. These outstanding awards let people around the world know that Northern Ireland is not only open for business but that our beaches, marinas and coastline are great destinations; clean, healthy and safe to enjoy, and supporting our vision of a living, working, active landscape valued by everyone.”

Notes to editors

For reference:

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council

Blue Flag

1. Cranfield West Beach

2. Murlough Beach

3. Tyrella Beach

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council

Blue Flag

4. Benone Beach

5. Downhill Beach

6. West Strand

7. Whiterocks Beach

8. Ballycastle Marina

Seaside Award

9. Ballycastle Beach

10. Castlerock Beach

11. Portrush East Strand

12. Waterfoot Beach

Ards and North Down Borough Council

Seaside Award

13. Ballywalter Beach

14. Groomsport Beach

15. Millisle Beach

16. Cloughey Beach

Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)

Seaside Award

17. Crawfordsburn Beach

Green Coast Award

18. Helen’s Bay Beach

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council

Blue Flag

19. Carrickfergus Marina

Seaside Award

20. Ballygally Beach

21. Brown’s Bay

22. Carnlough Beach

Mid Ulster District Council

Blue Flag

23. Ballyronan Marina

National Trust

Blue Flag

24. Portstewart Strand

Quay Marinas Limited

Blue Flag

25. Bangor Marina

Seaside Award – 12

Blue Flag – 8 beaches 4 Marinas

Green Coast - 1

Belfast, 7th December 2017: A cross-border research project for developing a system for live bathing water monitoring is launched today at a prestigious event at Titanic Belfast, including presentations from project funders, partners and a stakeholder forum. This project has been funded by the EU’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.

The EU SWIM Project – as it is known – combines the expertise of lead partner University College Dublin and Northern Irish project partners Agri-Food Bioscience Institute and Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, aiming to develop a system that will allow bathers to check the water quality of their chosen bathing spots live before taking the dip. The development of a bathing water quality prediction model will directly tie into software to support the collection of data and delivery of information to the public.

Match-funded by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government in Ireland, this research takes place across sites in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland – a cross-border initiative supported by the Interreg VA funding scheme.

Welcoming the project Gina McIntyre, CEO of the Special EU Programmes Body said: “This innovative cross-border project represents a real step-change in how bathing water quality is monitored and will provide invaluable, real-time information on water quality for the general public on both sides of the border. It will make a significant contribution towards meeting the EU’s Bathing Water Directive, and therefore help meet one of the core environmental protection objectives of the INTERREG VA Programme.”

Professor Gregory O’Hare of University College Dublin explains “The EU SWIM Project will not only develop a bathing water prediction model and allow water sampling and microbial tracking, it will also result in the creation of an app and a website with real-life updates; which crucially promotes good management, environmental standards and sustainability for beaches on the island of Ireland.”

The research is scheduled to take place between now and December 2019. Regular updates can be found on www.swimproject.eu

ENDS//

To speak to a press spokesperson, please contact Dr Susann Power, Operations Manager, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful on susann.power@keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org or 02890 736920.

University College Dublin

UCD is one of Europe's leading research-intensive universities; an environment where undergraduate education, masters and PhD training, research, innovation and community engagement form a dynamic spectrum of activity. The international standing of UCD has grown in recent years; it is currently ranked within the top 1% of institutions world-wide. USC is also Ireland's most globally engaged university with over 30,000 students drawn from over 120 countries, and includes 5,500 students based at locations outside the Republic of Ireland. As Ireland's largest university, with its great strength and diversity of disciplines, UCD embrances its role to contribute to the flourishing of the island of Ireland; through the study and discussion of people, society, business, economy, culture, languages and the creative arts, as well as through research and innovation.

Agri-Food Bioscience Institute

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) is a multi-disciplinary scientific institute offering world-class scientific services to a wide range of customers in the agri-food sector. They provide analytical & diagnostic, research & development and scientific training & advice in agriculture, food, animal and plant health, marine and freshwater ecosystems and the agri-environment. They operate across seven sites in Northern Ireland and have a purpose built marine research vessel which operates in the Irish Sea from the Port of Belfast. Their state-of-the-art equipment is used by world-renowned scientists to provide sophisticated and reliable results. They participate in top-level research consortia with some of the world’s most well-respected research organisations, universities and agencies globally, including China, the United States and Canada.

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful is a charity working towards the vision of a cleaner, greener Northern Ireland by running environmental education programmes and awareness raising campaigns, increasing volunteering opportunities and reporting on local environmental quality. Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful runs a range of awareness raising and volunteering campaigns including the BIG Spring Clean and the Clean Coast programme as well as local environmental quality programmes such as international Eco-Schools and Blue Flag programmes, the Seaside Award, Borough Cleanliness Surveys and Live Here Love Here Green Business Awards. For more information, visit www.keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org.

There is an average of 528 items of litter for every 100m of coast around Northern Ireland, a new report has found – that’s about five bits of litter for every step you take on some beaches. Perhaps more shockingly, this figure compares favourably against the rest of the coast of the UK and Ireland.

The report, by environmental charity Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, is an analysis of surveys on ten reference beaches from Runkerry Strand in the North West to Rostrevor in the South East. Staff and volunteers have covered a total of 56 kilometres over fourteen survey rounds since September 2012 to collect the data and remove the litter.

Chris Allen, who manages the survey for Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, said “This new analysis looks at all the data we have collected since 2012. We’ve found tremendous variation between the surveys, so taking them all together allows us to get the best picture of the amount and composition of litter washing up on our beaches.”

Over the four years of the study, there was no significant change in the overall litter count, although the number of plastic bags and sanitary waste items have both reduced, which has been attributed to the carrier bag levy and improvements to treatment works by NI Water respectively.

Chris went on “When you compare our reference beaches against the reference beaches in the UK, Ireland and the countries around the North Atlantic, we actually come out with less litter per 100m. That we can have over 500 bits of litter per 100m and still be cleaner than other places is pretty worrying. This stuff damages boats; kills marine life, and could cause contamination of fish and shellfish that end up on our plates. Not to mention it looks pretty disgusting when it washes up on our beaches.”

As well as highlighting the amount of litter, the report praises the work of volunteers in cleaning beaches around the country. 4,187 bags of rubbish have been lifted by volunteers taking part in just this project – once the litter is counted, it is removed to ensure it isn’t counted in the next survey.

One group of people working hard to control litter are the residents of the Fishing Village of Ardglass in County Down. Kevin Quigley of the NI Fishery Harbour Authority said “We know litter is a problem – the tides wash it up here from all over the place – but our staff have pride in this beautiful harbour village and so can be seen regularly with local and other volunteers undertaking beach cleans.

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful revealed recently that Councils in Northern Ireland spent £43 million cleaning up litter in 2015-16, and it’s clear that some of what’s left is making its way into the sea. However, there are a number of initiatives taking place around the country to tackle the problem, including Council-led strategies specifically to remove and reduce beach litter, and education programmes run by NI Water and Eco-Schools to teach responsible disposal of litter. Fishing vessels have even begun to bring litter caught in their nets back to shore for responsible disposal.

You can read the full 2016 Marine Litter Report at http://www.keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org/cgi-bin/generic?instanceID=50