Calls for change to rules after stretch of Thames fails to gain bathing water status

Campaigners in Henley say insufficient number of bathers to qualify for status is result of poor water quality Bathing water rules in England should be improved to help drive a clean-up of pollution at a spot on the River Thames in Henley, campaigners say. In a letter to the environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, businesses, river users, community groups and civic leaders said poor water quality had been damaging the town and had put public health at risk. The letter said a stretch of the Thames through Henley – used for the annual rowing regatta – was turned down for bathing water status because of a narrow definition of those who use the river being confined only to “bathers”. People who use the river for organised swimming events, rowing, kayaking, paddleboarding or sailing were excluded from being considered as river users by Defra when the town council submitted its application in 2024 because they are not classed as “bathers” under the legislation, the letter said. Jo Robb, a member of the Henley Mermaids swimming group, said they were in a catch-22 situation, saying Henley cannot qualify for official bathing water status due to insufficient numbers of bathers, however, poor w