SALISBURY’s Queen Elizabeth Gardens could be awarded bathing water status which could help improve river health and safety.

Salisbury Clean Rivers, supported by XR Salisbury, FLOW, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Wildlife Wellbeing CIC and Salisbury Transition City,  sent a letter to Salisbury City Council to raise concerns over the water quality in the River Avon which runs through the city.

In this letter, the group is proposing for the bathing water status application to be submitted at Queen Elizabeth Gardens  – an area popular with families –  which would help assess water quality at the site and inform improvements in river health.

This comes after the group said the River Avon fails to meet targets set by both the Environment Agency and Natural England.

It is hoped that bathing water designation would help monitor water quality for harmful bacteria and viruses – with legal obligations placed on industry to reduce sewage pollution near sites.

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The letter reads: “Our assessment indicates that Queen Elizabeth Gardens is likely to meet the required criteria [for a bathing water application] and is a site that is already very popular, particularly with children during the summer.

“We expect that the proposed site would be located in the shallow area within Queen Elizabeth Gardens, rather than the deeper river downstream.

“Therefore, there should be no conflict with existing angling interests downstream.”

In 2023, Salisbury Clean Rivers took four samples which were analysed in a laboratory for E. Coli (EC) and Intestinal Enterococci (IE).

They said the last two samples, on September 18 and 21, had “very high” levels of IE and EC, which were linked to high rainfall events.

They added: “With fresh support from Surfers Against Sewage, we will conduct weekly sampling at the site for twelve months, starting in May 2025.”

A survey by Surfers Against Sewage found that 52% of the public are scared of using waterways due to their uncertainty about the water’s cleanliness.

The group is seeking support for the application from Salisbury City Council, with councillors set to discuss this at its Full Council meeting on Monday (July 14).