Fylde Coast Against Sewage stage demonstration in Blackpool to demand cleaner water
Fylde Coast Against Sewage (FCAS) held a demonstration in Blackpool to raise awareness about pollution affecting local rivers and seas.
The demonstration took place on the Comedy Carpet between 11am and 2pm on Sunday.
It coincided with the National Stand for Clean Water demonstration which was organised by environmental activist and singer Feargal Sharkey in London.
A spokesperson for FCAS said: “Over the last 12 months FCAS has been working in collaboration with Fleetwood Town Council and Fylde Borough Council to highlight the issue of sewage pollution in the sea.
“Currently two Fylde Coast beaches have lost their bathing status; St Annes North and Blackpool North Beach. This is unacceptable!
“Enough is enough!”
Fylde Council partnered with FCAS earlier this year in an attempt to improve the bathing waters along the coast.
The volunteer group carried out independent testing of the bathing waters, funded by the council at a cost of around £1,800.
The testing took place throughout the bathing season of May-September, helping to build the evidence needed to challenge all agencies and organisations tasked with improving the quality of bathing waters.
Following the announcement, a spokesman for Fylde Council said: “I am thrilled to be working with FCAS on this important initiative.
“The quality of our bathing waters is vital not only for the health and safety of our residents and visitors but also for the local economy, particularly our tourism sector. By funding independent testing, we are ensuring that we have accurate and unbiased data to drive improvements and hold relevant parties accountable.
“This partnership marks a significant step forward in our efforts to tackle pollution and safeguard our coastal waters.”
An estimated 15,000 people joined a range of environmental groups, including River Action, Greenpeace, the Wildlife Trusts and British Rowing, in London to demand tougher action on keeping the UK’s waterways clean.
Protesters gathered at the Albert Embankment before heading along the River Thames to a rally in Parliament Square.
TV presenter Chris Packham criticised the Government for not mentioning climate or nature in its Budget during the march.
He said: “Rachel Reeves gave a Budget in 2024, whilst Valencia was being flooded and people were losing their lives, and she didn’t use the word climate or nature once in that Budget.
“Now that’s scary.”
Pointing at Parliament, Packham added: “I know there are plenty of MPs and ministers over there who are desperate to do what they need to do and do their job – but they need to be given access to the resources, and part of that is finance.
“We’re here in a good-natured mood because I think that we’ve got to give them time, and this is going to take some time, but you have to mitigate that against the urgency of the situation. Because it is an absolute crisis.”
Packham said he was “angry, frustrated, and disgruntled” by the state of the UK’s fresh and marine water and called on the Government to “act more rapidly” given the technology available to fix the issues.
He added: “Now we find ourselves in a ghastly mess where our rivers are in a parlous state – among the worst in Europe.”
The campaign called for an immediate root and branch review of the regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency, the stricter enforcement of existing laws and regulations on water pollution and ensuring all polluting industries invest in upgrading infrastructure, reducing water wastage and leakage and helping farmers restore habitats.
Demonstrators wore blue clothing and waved blue flags to form what organisers called “a mass human river”, while sculptures of marine and freshwater animals such as whales and jellyfish were raised to float above the crowd.
Others carried signs reading “Stop the plop”, “Species not faeces”, and “Cut the crap”, and chanted slogans such as “Privatewater’sfull of crap, take our water back!”
Olympic rower Imogen Grant said the UK’s rivers had experienced a “horrendous decline” since the start of her career.
“Our rivers are in a terrible state,” she told protesters at the rally.
“When I learned to row 10 years ago, they were just at the start of this horrendous decline that’s been precipitated probably for the last 30 or 40 years, but I’ve really noticed a difference.
“I spend hours and hours on the water training every day in the rowing boats during my sessions, and seeing nappies floating along, seeing plastic bags, seeing scum along the pontoons that we’re training on… It’s just not good enough and something needs to change.”
Grant, who won gold at the Paris Games earlier this year, said she had previously fallen sick due to her daily contact with polluted river waters.
She said: “Frequently when we would train for weekends on the Thames in London, from a squad of thirteen girls, maybe one or two would get sick every time.
“And we’re not even in the water. We’re just on it.
“It’s really scary.”