DAERA works in partnership with stakeholders to manage our bathing waters and beaches through the Better Beaches Forum. The forum meets bi-annually to discuss a wide range of matters relating to bathing waters around Northern Ireland. Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful (KNIB), Northern Ireland Water (NIW), Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), community groups, local councils and other land-owners like the National Trust form the core of the forum but over the years we have had a wide representation of interested parties attend, the latest of which were ‘Surfers Against Sewage’ who attended our Better Beaches Forum in February 2024.
Between 2011 - 2015 the then Department of the Environment Minister Alex Attwood hosted a number of Good Beach Summits. Although these summits were initially convened to focus on water quality at the identified bathing waters throughout Northern Ireland, it became apparent that water quality was not the only issue which needed to be addressed and an action plan highlighting these various issues was proposed. In 2016, the Good Beach Summits evolved into the Better Beaches Forum and the initial action plan was consolidated into three strands focusing on:
- Improving water quality;
- Improving beach cleanliness, facilities management and signage;
- Keeping the public and media better informed.
These actions will underpin the improvement of the coastal and tourist economy and DAERA will continue to utilise the Better Beaches Forum as a means of raising the profile of issues associated with our bathing waters. The commitment, enthusiasm and contribution displayed by the forum participants is greatly appreciated by DAERA and is rewarded by seeing issues being resolved or addressed.
The current revision of the Better Beaches Forum Action Plan is detailed below:
Better Beaches Forum Action Plan