Three beaches in Waveney will be flying the prestigious Blue Flag this year - an internationally recognised symbol of a clean and well-managed beach. In addition, another three beaches have been given Quality Coast Awards, bringing the number of award-winning beaches in the district up to six!

Beaches at Southwold Pier and Lowestoft, both North and South of Claremont Pier have been awarded, Blue Flags for 2008. The Blue Flag Campaign is an initiative to recognise beaches that promote coastal environmental care.

A launch event is to be held at both Lowestoft and Southwold today, 5 June, attended by Waveney District Council’s Councillors, Officers and Beach Cleansing Team, as well as members of the Waveney Tourism Forum - Management Advisory Group and Members of The Lowestoft Tourism Regeneration Group.

ENCAMS European Blue Flag Awards recognise beaches throughout Europe, which fulfil strict criteria relating to both the water quality and the surrounding beach area. For a beach to be considered it must have attained the guideline standard of the Bathing Water Directive before being assessed for various other criteria. The beach must also demonstrate that it provides and manages a range of facilities and contributes to public awareness of environmental issues.

Waveney has also had further success as three other beaches have won Quality Coast Awards. Southwold beach (North of the Pier), Southwold Denes and Kessingland have all been awarded flags. The Quality Coast Award was launched in 2007 and recognises the diversity and quality of England’s coastline. All beaches achieving this award have one thing in common – they have been recognised for providing the very best standards for their visitors. This is the fist time that Southwold beach, North of the Pier had been entered for an award. Continues…

Councillor Wendy Mawer, Portfolio holder for Regeneration, was delighted with the news: “Our beaches have taken a battering this winter, which can not only upset their natural balance, but can cause no end of trouble for the teams that clean and maintain them. However, they worked extremely hard to keep them at this high standard and we have been rewarded yet again.

“For the sixth consecutive year the water quality, cleanliness and facilities at our beaches have been acknowledged and I’d like to thank all those involved. This prestigious award demonstrates how hard the teams at Waveney and many keen volunteers work to keep our beaches in award-winning condition for residents and visitors alike.”

Waveney District Council’s Asa Morrison, Principal Service Manager for Culture, Tourism & Sport said: “Our beaches are some of our finest assets and one of the main reasons visitors come to the Sunrise Coast. Accolades such as the Blue Flag are of great benefit to the local tourism industry. The Sunrise Coast Visitor Survey 2007 identified that just over 75% of visitors to the area went to or intended to visit our beaches during their stay, highlighting just how important they are to Waveney’s £215.9 million tourism economy.”

For more information about the beaches near you go to www.visit-sunrisecoast.co.uk . For further details on ENCAMS and Blue Flag visit www.encams.org  and for the Quality Coast Award visit www.qualitycoast.org .