The Blue Flag is awarded annually and is valid for one year during the bathing season. To be eligible for the Blue Flag, a bathing beach must fulfill all criteria. The Blue Flag should be removed if any criterion is no longer being met.

The National and International Juries reserve the right to refuse the Blue Flag to beaches that are found to be either in violation of national environmental regulations or otherwise act in discord with the objectives and spirit of the Blue Flag Programme.

The beach should have designated bathing water status and there should be at least one sampling point within the Blue Flag area of the beach. The bathing water must be monitored and identified under the Bathing Water Directive 76/160/EEC. For more information on gaining designated bathing water status in England, visit

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/quality/bathing/identification.htm

The award of a Blue Flag is based on compliance with a number of criteria; some imperative (I) and some guideline (g), covering the following:

• Environmental Education and Information
• Water Quality
• Environmental Management
• Safety and Services

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND INFORMATION

• Information relating to coastal zone ecosystems and natural sensitive areas (where applicable) in the coastal zone must be displayed (i).
  
• Information about bathing water quality must be displayed (i). This should be in a format which is easily understood by the public and should be kept up to date as soon as data is made available from the monitoring authority. ENCAMS will provide a chart and stickers which can be used to display this data, although Beach Operators may use an alternative format if they wish to do so, eg defra poster available from www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/quality/bathing/pdf/bw_poster.pdf.
  
• Information about the Blue Flag Programme must be displayed (i). A brief summary of the Blue Flag Programme should be included on the main information board and should include details of the responsible managing authority locally, nationally and internationally. ENCAMS will provide a poster which includes the Blue Flag logo and brief information which is adequate to meet this criteria. Alternatively, Beach Operators can include their own wording along the following lines:

The Blue Flag is an environmental award given to Beach Operators who make a special effort to manage their coastal water environment and beaches.

To attain the Blue Flag, Beach Operators have to fulfill a number of criteria covering environmental information and education, environmental management, safety and services, water quality.

To view an example of the ENCAMS poster, click here.

• Code of conduct for the beach area must be displayed and the laws governing beach use must be easily available to the public upon request (i).
  
• A minimum of five environmental education activities must be offered (i). For more guidance on environmental education activities and examples of good practice, click here. Brief details of the environmental education activities need to be displayed on the main information board. Suitable wording would be:

As part of the Blue Flag Programme, …Council runs a number of environmental education activities throughout the season, for example … For more information on these activities, contact ...

It is an imperative criterion that all Blue Flag beaches have a common information board (all relevant information in one place) in a prominent position at the beach main access point. This common information board should include all beach, safety and Blue Flag information, together with water quality sampling results and details of environmental education activities.

FEE are keen to see the standardisation of beach information boards, so that beach visitors can immediately locate the important information they need to make their visit both safe and enjoyable. It is ENCAMS preferred option that when Beach Operators come to naturally replace their signage in the future (ie due to wear and tear), they consider adopting the RNLI guidance that has recently been produced and approved by FEE . This will ensure a uniformed approach to signage on beaches throughout England and Northern Ireland and the RNLI guidance adheres to nationally approved standards, whilst allowing Beach Operators the flexibility to display their own branding and the opportunity to use local manufacturers to ensure best value.

To view an example of a common information board click here.

WATER QUALITY

• Compliance with the requirements and standards for excellent bathing water quality (i).

  The water must comply with the Mandatory and Guideline value of the appropriate microbiological parameters of the EC Bathing Water Directive 76/160/EEC. Guideline water must meet the guideline standard for total coliform, faecal coliform and faecal streptococci parameters. There should be at least 20 samples taken at regular intervals throughout the bathing season.

  Parameter	Guideline standard- no more than:	Percentage Compliance	Mandatory - No more than:	Percentage Compliance
  total coliform	500 per 100ml	80%	10,000 per 100ml	95%
  faecal coliform	100 per 100ml	80%	2,000 per 100ml	95%
  faecal streptococci	100 per 100ml	90%	--	--

  To meet Blue Flag criteria, there must be no more than 17 days between water quality samples.

  The first sample must be taken within 5-17 days before the beginning of the bathing season. The last sampling of the season must be taken within the fortnight of the last date of the bathing season.

• No industrial or sewage related discharges may affect the beach area (i).

• Compliance of the community with requirements for sewage treatment and effluent quality (g).

• Algae or other vegetation should be left to decay on the beach unless it constitutes a nuisance (i).

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

• A beach management committee must be established to be in charge of instituting environmental management systems and conduct regular environmental audits of the beach facility (g).

• The beach must comply with all regulations affecting the location and operation of the beach (coastal zone planning and environmental legislation) (i).

• The beach must be clean (i).

• Waste disposal bins/receptacles must be available on/by the beach in adequate numbers, regularly maintained and emptied (i).

• Facilities for receiving recyclable waste materials must be available on/by the beach (i). There must be recycling facilities for at least three types of recyclable materials (these could include glass, paper, clothing, cans, etc) on or near the beach. Separate facilities should be provided for each type and they should ideally not be more than 200 metres away from the beach (the beach car park is fine) and should be clearly signed on the information board and on the ground. Please note that recycling bins for brown, clear and green glass do not constitute recycling for three types of materials, only one type of material - glass. Alternatively, a single facility may be installed for receiving different types of materials, provided the accepted materials are clearly marked on the receptacle and that the materials are sorted and recycled following collection.

• Adequate and clean toilet facilities with controlled sewage disposal (i). The number of toilet facilities available at the beach should be adequate to meet the needs of beach users even at peak times. The facilities must be clean at all times. The frequency of checking and cleaning the facilities must reflect the intensity of their use. Beaches with a fair number of daily visitors must have their facilities checked and cleaned every day or several times a day. Toilet facilities must be equipped with washbasins, soap and clean towels or a dryer and must be easy to locate through the beach map and also signs or signposts where appropriate.

• On the beach there will be no unauthorised camping or driving and no dumping (i).

• Regulations concerning dogs and other domestic animals on the beach must be strictly enforced (i). Dogs should be banned from the award beach area throughout the bathing season in both England and Northern Ireland. There should be an enforced bye-law or Dog Control Order banning dogs from the award beach area from May to September. The dog ban area should be marked on the beach map and on the ground and clear signage should be in place. There may be a dog exercise area adjacent to the award area (outside the Blue Flag award area), but this should be clearly delineated and controlled.

• All buildings and equipment at the beach must be properly maintained (i).

• Sustainable means of transportation must be promoted in the beach area (g).

SAFETY AND SERVICES

• An adequate number of lifeguards and/or lifesaving equipment must be available at the beach (i). The presence of lifeguards at a Blue Flag beach is recommended in order to increase the safety level at the beach, especially at beaches with a high number of beachgoers. There must be an adequate number of lifeguards
  (minimum two) placed at appropriate intervals according to the beach characteristics and use. The number of lifeguards can vary over the Blue Flag season according to peak and low use of the beach. Lifeguards should be easily recognisable and must have appropriate lifesaving equipment.
  
  Lifesaving equipment can replace lifeguards at beaches with low hazard risks and with few users. The lifesaving equipment should include access to an emergency telephone. The equipment should be regularly inspected and clearly positioned, visible and located at regular intervals permitting it to be identified and reached quickly from any point on the beach. On beaches without lifeguards, maximum intervals of 100 metres between the equipment are recommended. Lifesaving equipment must be accompanied by instructions for use and what to do in the case of a rescue.

• First aid equipment must be available on the beach (i). First aid should either be available by way of a lifeguard on site; a manned first aid station with trained personnel; equipment located in a shop or other beach facilities at the beach; or, directly available to the public on the beach. First aid facilities can either be attended or unattended. It is strongly recommended that busy beaches and family beaches have attended first aid stations. First aid stations or the location of first aid equipment must be clearly signposted and marked on the beach map for easy location by beach visitors. Times of availability of first aid equipment should be displayed.

• There must be management of different users and uses of the beach so as to prevent conflicts and accidents (i).

• An emergency plan to cope with pollution safety risks must be in place  (i).

• There must be safe access to the beach  (i). A beach must be accessible in order to be eligible for the Blue Flag. In addition, the access provided must be safe. Therefore, beaches that are physically challenging to access must have provisions that facilitate safe access, such as secured steps with handrails. Similarly, roads in the vicinity of the beach, which must be crossed to access the beach, must have designated crosswalks. Beach promenades and steps onto the beach must be complete and in good condition in order to be safe. The car park surface must be in good order. Reserved places for disabled persons must be clearly marked and give easy access to resort facilities. Where it is absolutely necessary to park on the beach it must be safe, controlled, clearly marked and defined. Other access paths must also be safe, with regulations for other traffic types such as cars and bicycles. Bicycle paths should be encouraged whenever relevant. Similarly, car and bicycle parking should be provided as needed and where appropriate.
  
  Where promenade edges are higher than two metres above the beach, warning signs/line and/or a barrier should be set up to prevent accidental falls. This is especially important where the beach surface is rocky.

• A supply of potable drinking water must be available on the beach (i). There must be a potable drinking water source on the beach in England and Northern Ireland. This source can be in the toilet blocks or on the beach front but it must be protected from contamination by animals and birds. It is acceptable for the Beach Operator to have an arrangement with local businesses to supply a glass of drinking water free-of-charge or alternatively, this could be available from the lifeguard or Beach Supervisor hut. The drinking water should be clearly signed and easy to find.

• A minimum of one Blue Flag beach in each authority must have access and toilet facilities provided for disabled persons (i).

• A map of the beach indicating different facilities must be displayed  (i).
  
  The following items are required to be indicated on the beach map where applicable:
  
• Lifeguards and/or lifesaving equipment
• First aid equipment
• Telephones
• Toilets (including toilets for disabled)
• Drinking water
• Car and bicycle parking
• Authorised camping sites at/near the beach
• Larger waste receptacles
• Water sampling point(s)
• Access points and access for disabled
• Footpaths
• Zoning (swimming, sailing, surfing etc)
• Storm water outlets
• Nearby natural sensitive areas, etc.
• Recycling point

AWARD ENTRY FEE

The Blue Flag application fee is £300 + VAT. The fee includes all administration, site visits and surveys, feedback, flag, stickers, information posters, certificates, logo bromides.

Click here to download the detailed International Blue Flag Beach Criteria as a PDF

For further information about Blue Flag beaches throughout the world, contact: www.blueflag.org