Dhoon Bay avoids losing designated bathing status

A bathing spot in southern Scotland has avoided losing its designated status following improvement action.

Dhoon Bay near Kirkcudbright was the only beach in the country classified as poor for 2022.

It had been graded at that level for four seasons in a row and a fifth would have seen signs put up advising people not to enter the water.

However, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said it was now rated “sufficient” for 2023.

It had previously described 2022 as a “key year” for Dhoon Bay with targeted improvement actions in place to try to turn things around.

The Scottish government provided funding to attempt to address the situation.

Steps were taken to treat private sewage and reduce run-off from nearby agricultural land.

Sepa said work was ongoing to try to improve the situation further.

Overall, Scotland saw 44% of its 87 designated bathing waters achieve “excellent” levels – the highest since tighter standards first came into force in 2015.

However, two beaches in Fife – Kinghorn (harbour beach) and Lower Largo – have dropped to “poor” status.

Sepa said projects were in development to tackle issues at those sites and improve the situation.

The full list of water quality ratings across the country is available on its website.