A Bathing Area on the Thames?

"There are already lots of places to go for a dip in the city, and there's a new floating lido opening in Canary Wharf this summer, but there might be another new swimming area on the way. A spot on the Thames between Kingston and Ham could become the first official bathing site on the river as part of a plan by the government to increase the number of official bathing sites in England to 464."

"Amongst the other twelve sites under consultation are East Beach at West Bay in Bridport, Dorset, which was a filming location for the ITV drama Broadchurch; Pangbourne Meadow in Berkshire, which was the inspiration for The Wind in the Willows; the River Fowey in Lostwithiel, Cornwall; the River Swale in Richmond, North Yorkshire; and New Brighton Beach (East) at the mouth of the Mersey Estuary."

A location on the Thames between Kingston and Ham may be designated as the river's first official bathing site under government plans to increase England's official bathing sites to 464. The Thames suffered severe pollution for decades and was once declared biologically dead in the 1950s, so official designation would signal a "vast transformation" in water quality. Thousands already swim in that stretch, including community group the Teddington Bluetits, and designation would require regular water-quality testing and could increase pressure to clean rivers and coasts. The proposals include twelve other consultation sites across England.

Read at London On The Inside