A parish council has become embroiled in a row with naturists after trying to ban nude bathing on a local beach.
Corton Beach, near Lowestoft in Suffolk, was designated for naturism in the 1970s and in 2009, it was decided non-nudist bathers could also make use of the area.
It remains legal to use the beach with and without clothes, however the British Naturism organisation and the council have fallen out after it put up a sign insisting it was not a nudist beach.
The sign reads: “Warning, Corton Beach is not a naturist beach. Lewd behaviour will not be tolerated and may be recorded by CCTV and reported to the police. Causing an offence to others is a criminal offence and all cases will be reported for prosecution.”
‘Perfectly lawful’
In response to the sign, Nigel Newman, organiser of the British Naturism eastern region, told The Sunday Times that it was “inaccurate” to say Corton Beach was not designated for nude bathing.
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“Corton parish council hasn’t got the authority to state that because it’s enshrined in national legislation that naturism is perfectly lawful.”
He added that use of the word “lewd” implied “that naturism is lewd”.
“They are two completely separate and different things,” he said. “It’s not criminal – it’s perfectly lawful.”
In a blog post on the British Naturism website, Mr Newman added it was inaccurate to suggest it was a “criminal offence” to “cause offence”.
“If it were, the jails would be full of people charged with causing offence by their clothing, the colour of their hair or their mere existence,” he wrote. “The law is quite clear on what is needed to cause a criminal offence.”
‘Not trying to outlaw naturists’
According to Mr Newman, at the most recent parish council meeting earlier this month, the council insisted its wording was correct.
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A spokesman for the parish council insisted it was not “targeting” or trying to “outlaw” naturists and that it “recognises that naturism in the UK is legal”.
British Naturism currently has around 8,500 members, with the average age being about 60.
In 2022 the biggest survey ever into naturism found that 14 per cent of people now describe themselves as naturist – an estimated 6.75 million.
The findings by Ipsos show a huge increase on previous figures, with the last survey conducted by British Naturism in 2011 finding just 6 per cent considered themselves to be nudists or naturists.
A spokesman for East Suffolk council said: “I can confirm that we have requested removal of a sign placed, without relevant permissions, on a signpost on East Suffolk council land.”
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