A Follow-up on Christchurch Harbour
Following on from the Action for Christchurch Harbour and Waterways event at the Regent, a Facebook Post by Clifford Wheeler in the CHAMS group gave some insight into action by our MP, Christopher Chope, and also the Environment Agency.
Both letters are included here, with permission from Clifford, we hope they help give an insight into the ongoing situation. They are also transcribed below.
Dear Mr Clifford,
Thank you for writing to me about the pollution levels recently reported in Christchurch Harbour. I have engaged with the Environment Agency on this serious issue and I have also written to the Minister responsible at DEFRA.
Following the public meeting at the Regent Centre on Tuesday, I received the attached email (below) from Ian Withers, the Wessex Area Director of the Environment Agency. I am sure you will share my disappointment at what he says. It is of no comfort to users of the harbour to be told that the initial results of the samples taken last week ‘are broadly what we would expect to see in a harbour environment’. He also seems to have missed the point about the recreational use made of the harbour by rowers, sailors and others who are not engaged in swimming. There should surely be a standard level of water quality in the harbour which is compatible with safe recreational use short of swimming. While the Environment Agency says that it has not discovered ‘any obvious sources of pollution around the harbour’ it is still awaiting full laboratory results for the samples taken.
I am pressing Mr Withers on these points and also his vague statement as to what would be ‘the appropriate regulatory response’ if the Environment Agency find evidence of non-compliance or identifies a pollution source within its remit. I have also asked him to provide more detail of the extent of the ‘remit’ to which he refers.
Following the meeting, Aidan Dunn, Chief Executive of BCP Council said that 'The Council has limited power itself over water quality'. I have written to him seeking detail as to exactly what powers the Council does have and whether he believes that the Council should be given additional powers.
I shall continue to update you when I have received further information from Mr Withers, the Government Minister and the Chief Executive of BCP Council.
With best wishes,
Chris Chope
Sir Christopher Chope OBE MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
Dear Sir Christopher,
I wanted to provide an update now that we have received the first results from the samples we took in Christchurch Harbour last week. I know water quality is important to residents, harbour users, businesses and local groups, so I wanted to set out clearly what the results show, what they mean, and what we are doing next.
What the results show: The initial results are broadly what we would expect to see in a harbour environment. Based on the samples we have taken, they do not identify any ongoing sources of pollution. However, we know that natural levels of bacteria in the water environment can vary enormously. We have agreed to work closely with Christchurch Harbour and Marine Society to undertake more monitoring.
What this means for constituents: Christchurch Harbour is not currently a designated bathing water site. Thismeans we cannot use these initial results to draw conclusions about the overall bathing water quality of the harbour.
For anyone choosing where to swim, designated bathing water sites provide the clearest publicly available information because they are monitored regularly during the bathing season and the monitoring results are published. There are three beaches on the local coast that are all classified as having excellent bathing water quality.
Christchurch Harbour is not currently designated, but Defra leads the designation process, and applications can be made by local authorities or members of the public. We have shared information with Christchurch Harbour & Marine Society on how a site in the harbour could be put forward for consideration.
What we have been checking: While waiting for the laboratory results, we have checked Wessex Water’s discharges in the area and looked for any obvious sources of pollution around the harbour. We have not identified an obvious source of pollution at this stage.
If we find evidence of non-compliance, or identify a pollution source within our remit, we will consider the appropriate regulatory response.
What we will do next: We will continue to work with local groups to collect further samples. This will help build a clearer picture of bacterial levels in the harbour over time.
We will also continue to look into any new reports of pollution and respond where there is evidence of an issue within our remit.
As mentioned in the briefing note sent last week, Environment Agency representatives shared the initial results from our investigations at the public meeting last night at The Regent Centre
Please do get in touch if you have any questions or would like to discuss the results in further detail.
Kind regards,
Ian Withers
Area Director, Wessex
Published: 16th September 2026