Not long after British naturists fought off one threat from Government legislation, along comes another.

The Queen's Speech setting out the programme for the new session of Parliament includes a bill which could seriously effect any naturists who use 'traditional' nude beaches around the coast of England.

In October this year Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly published a 'white paper' containing, among other things, plans for reform of English local government. Under the heading of 'Effective, accountable and responsive local government' the white paper proposes to give councils the right to determine local byelaws without prior agreement from Central Government. The 'Local Government Bill' would put those plans into effect.

How will this effect naturists?

At present, a council wishing to create a byelaw to ban nude bathing on its beaches must first apply to Whitehall for approval. In recent years such byelaws have been routinely refused but the new proposals would dispense with this restraint. Recent events at Fraisthorpe, Perran Sands and Ainsdale - among other places - highlight the potential threat to naturists that is likely to arise when local councils have unfettered powers to create byelaws.

At the formerly official naturist beach of Fraisthorpe, for example, East Riding of Yorkshire Council reacted to complaints about sexual activity on parts of the beach by declaring a 'ban' on nudity on all their beaches. Never mind that the problem lay not with the naturists but with a small number of 'undesirables'. Never mind that the 'ban' had no legal basis. The council, under pressure from some local residents, simply wanted a way to make the problem go away.

In pursuit of that aim they erected notices and enlisted the help of Humberside Police and their helicopter to harass the naturists with threats of prosecution. The naturists refused to be intimidated , safe in the knowledge that they were breaking neither laws nor byelaws - since simple beach nudity is not a crime and no relevant byelaw exists. A local councillor was forced to admit to the Yorkshire Post "There isn't a lot you can do about the naturists as I understand it and the police would struggle to bring a charge."

Who can doubt that councils like East Riding of Yorkshire will take the opportunity and - to use the language of the white paper - "enforce the standards of behaviour and rules affecting their localities" and "create pleasant, safe public spaces" by creating a byelaw and banishing the nudes at the stroke of a pen.

Added to this, they won't need to trouble the Police in future as they will have the power to enforce byelaws by issuing fixed penalty notices.

Ah, yes. The Fixed Penalty Notice, a favourite tool of the authoritarian Blair government. None of that old fashioned 'innocent-until-proven-guilty', no need for the tiresome business of weighing the evidence in court, no inconvenient possibility that the non-compliant might escape punishment.

An FPN is an offer by the authorities not to prosecute if you pay up. In order to assert your rights not to be punished without due process, you must make an application to be tried by a court and thereby risk substantial legal costs and greater punishment. Add to that the publicity arising from a court case and only a very determined naturist is likely to contest a FPN and assert his innocence.

And when you are naturist on a beach with a 'no nudity' byelaw you will not be able to claim innocence, you will be guilty. No argument.

Can this new threat to naturist beaches be headed off in the same way as the exposure law in the Sexual Offences Act?

Probably not. The time for making representations has already passed. Unlike the SOA, which was so obviously a threat to law-abiding naturists and was relatively simple to amend, the new byelaw powers are not directly concerned with public nudity and may well be popular with the majority who will see them as a useful weapon against anti-social behaviour.

In all likelihood, naturists will have to respond on a case by case basis, whenever and wherever the threat of a new byelaw emerges. Our cause will be greatly helped if we can engage with local councils at an early stage and clearly distinguish ourselves from the voyeurs, masturbators, doggers and other open-air sex enthusiasts who are so often cause of the threats to naturist beaches.

Many might also consider that what we really need is a representative, responsive and effective national organisation willing and able to negotiate on our behalf - but that, as they say, is a different story. Meanwhile, we shall have to atckle the problem ofr ourselves.

Watch this space for more developments.

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