Resort plans to scrap Blue Flag awards for beaches

A Devon resort is preparing to walk away from the internationally recognised Blue Flag beach awards because local leaders say the scheme no longer fits the bay's needs and has become too expensive.

A proposal going before Torbay Council's cabinet committee on Tuesday would replace the international system with a home‑grown grading model designed specifically for the English Riviera.

Councillor Adam Billings, the cabinet member for Pride in Place, said: "I do not see it as a loss of a Blue Flag status, I see it as a gain of an English Riviera beach standard status."

The English Riviera BID, representing the bay's tourism industry, has given its full backing to the plan. Blue Flag has been asked for comment.

According to a report to the committee: "While the Blue Flag scheme has historically offered recognition, its increasingly prescriptive requirements no longer align well with Torbay's diverse coastline, sensitive marine environments and operational realities."

The council argues its own system will deliver stronger environmental protections, tougher water testing and more facilities for beachgoers.

Billings said Blue Flag rules were becoming harder for the bay to meet, especially the requirement to divide beaches into zones for different types of users.

He said the set‑up would force the council to install buoys in areas containing protected seagrass.

"We cannot have interference with our protected seagrasses," he said. "It would not necessarily be appropriate to decide, well, you can use the beach, you cannot."

The current scheme costs around £260,000 a year, but Billings said: "This is not about saving money, this is about providing a standard that is appropriate for our local area."

He added that the extra water testing required under the new model also carried a cost.

"The new standard has a testing regime that is twice as robust as the Blue Flag one," he said.

Billings said he hoped the new scheme would become as trusted as the old one. "Blue Flag status has been a historical go‑to," he said. "Equally, I hope that going forwards, the new English Riviera beach standard will be a go‑to for our residents and visitors."

The new scheme would need to be fully in place before the 2026 holiday season, said the report.

Breakwater, Broadsands, Meadfoot, Oddicombe, Preston and Torre Abbey Sands all have Blue Flags. Oddicombe has held its Blue Flag every year since the awards launched 38 years ago.

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