Places Features

Part of Fraisthorpe beach, near Bridlington, was designated a naturist beach in the early 1990s. The East Riding of Yorkshire Council reversed the decision in 2007, saying it had received complaints about “people behaving in an inappropriate way”.

John Wymark-Hoar is the regional representative for British Naturism, an organisation which campaigns on behalf of naturists.  He says the council is confusing illegal sexual activities with naturism:

“Just south of the area of the beach, several hundreds yards south, there was an area used for outdoor sexual purposes: cruising, dogging that sort of thing. And we rather got tarred with the same brush.”

The council has erected signs threatening legal action against people committing acts of indecency. However, the council concedes that naturism is not against the law.

Max Pratt: F.U.N

Max Pratt runs an organisation called Fraisethorpe United Naturists. He said the signs were an overreaction:  “Activities that the council refer to happen throughout the whole of the UK. It’s not just here at Fraisthorpe beach that these things happen. Yet councils do not go around erecting signs saying that other people are not allowed to use them.”

Richard Primmer, acting head of culture and information at East Riding Council, says he has some sympathy for “true naturists” but the council is not planning to change its position: “The difficulty we have of course is that council has decided quite clearly that they do not want to have a designated naturist beach. The naturists have decided that they want there to be a designated naturist beach, and there is that gulf between us.”

One of the controversial signs erected in 2007

He continued: “There isn’t any way we can come to an agreement, because there is no halfway house. The beach is either designated, or it is not; and we are quite clear that it is not a designated beach.”

In the middle of the dispute is Humberside Police. In the past the force has taken action against nudity at Fraisthorpe, including patrols using the police helicopter. In recent years the policy has changed to one of only responding to specific complaints of illegal activity, as Adil Khan, the force’s head of diversity and community cohesion explained: “We’ve made it clear if it constitutes a police response by way of offence, by way of anything other than naturists themselves using the beach in totally legitimate circumstances, then we will police it. “

He said the police have received very few complaints from the public and that the naturists themselves “pose no issues for policing.”

Adil Khan: Humberside Police

Mr Khan said that the police’s approach is dialogue with both sides, so they can act on illegal activity such as voyeurism: “It’s so important that we have that dialogue with all parts of the community, in particular the naturists themselves. Because they will quite openly come to us and tell us that there is some form of activity going on that isn’t associated with them and I suppose on that basis it gives us a heads up and so we are able to deal with that illegal activity that occurs.”

The dispute shows few signs of being resolved. The naturists argue that the council is missing an opportunity. They say by promoting the beach they could tap into the “nude pound”, encouraging naturist tourists to visit the area, boosting the local economy. The council have rejected that approach saying that they are focusing the tourism marketing on traditional family holidays.