Enhancements made to strengthen Council’s beach management plan

Message to everyone – please Respect, Protect, Enjoy.

Thanet District Council and its multi-agency partners continue to work hard to keep the beaches and towns across Thanet clean and safe.

High season plans to ensure people respect, protect and enjoy our coastline were in place three months earlier than usual this year.

With lots of people opting for a staycation, extra pressure on public resources will continue. As such, the council has introduced several new initiatives for the summer holidays, which are in addition to the resources already in place since Easter. These include more bins, cleansing staff and security.

Respect

New litter initiatives include:

• Flags at accesses to our main beaches to draw people’s attention to the litter bins.
• 300 ‘The bin’s over there’ banners installed across the district, including on our coastline, in a partnership with chewing gum manufacturer, Mars Wrigley.
• 42 recycling bins in place at all our Blue Flag beaches.
• 10 new litter picking stations which provide people with free recycled plastic bags installed at entrances to several of our popular beaches.
• 15 additional dog waste bag dispenser stations with free biodegradable bags for people to pick up after their dogs. This brings us to a total of 65 litter/dog stations across the district.*
• Cigarette butt pouches (with the Respect Protect Enjoy logo) available from education@thanet.gov.uk for local food and drink outlets to stock.
• Respect Protect Enjoy merchandise (T-shirts, cigarette pouches, high-vis jackets) reinforcing the message to be worn by all coastal and enforcement teams. These are on sale at the Visitor
• Information Centre in Margate to help fund other community litter initiatives.
• Support for a new art installation at Margate Train Station led by community litter picking group, Rise.Up.Clean.Up Margate.

Protect

Environmental enforcement team:

• We have more resources this year than in any previous years, which includes three dedicated officers enforcing around the coast and eight coastal security wardens supporting them.
• We have dedicated Enforcement patrol officers tasked with focussing on several hotspots along our coast, at peak times of the day. Security patrols will also support Civil Enforcement Officers at roads surrounding hotspot locations, such as Botany Bay.

Beach check app UK

The council is the only coastal resort in Kent to sign up to the new Beach Check UK app which enables users to check the status of a beach before they arrive in order to avoid congested bays and to encourage them to discover nearby alternatives that are quieter and less crowded.

New meeting point flags

Coloured flags to create clear meeting points visible for lost children.

7 days a week medical presence throughout the summer (Margate)

Seven day week medical presence led by NHS/South East Coast Ambulance Service at Margate Main Sands throughout the summer. This service is designed to reduce the volume of people attending Margate’s urgent care/A&E. On-site staff will manage and treat minor injuries and, where appropriate, make referrals to other parts of Kent depending on where the person is from and the nature of the problem.

Parking Enforcement 

• Increased presence of Civil Enforcement Officers patrolling on foot, especially in the Kingsgate/Broadstairs area.
• Static signage to direct visitors to some of the beaches which have more space and available parking when needed. One of these says ‘No Parking at Botany Bay’.
• Our parking team will issue over 100 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for parking offences on any busy sunny day during the summer.

Enjoy

• The Viking Bay lift has been repaired and is now open for the public to use.
• A new concessionaire at Westbrook Bay has been awarded a licence from the council and is open until the end of the season.
• Thanet Coast Project has a series of events throughout the summer to raise awareness and inspire people about protecting marine life and our oceans
• Visit Thanet has details of a number of events taking place over the summer, including ones on our 16 beaches (5 Blue flags and 5 Seaside awards). More details are available on the Visit Thanet website.

Cllr Reece Pugh, Cabinet Member for Economic Development at Thanet District Council, said:

“We continue to lead our multi-agency beach management plan and enhance our preparations with extra initiatives as peak summer commences. Building on our experience from last year, it’s clear that a joined up approach to manage the large volumes of people heading to our coast is critical. We are working hard with other agencies to ensure the services we provide for residents and visitors along our coastline run smoothly.

“We know that litter left on our beaches will always be the biggest issue for our residents, so it’s great to be able to launch more schemes aimed specifically at encouraging behaviour change amongst people who find it acceptable to leave rubbish on the beach. We want people to do the right thing with their waste and put it in the bins provided!”

Advice for visitors planning to visit Thanet’s beaches:

• Plan ahead: Download Beach Check UK to review parking and toilet provision. If a beach is busy, choose another to avoid crowds, or consider coming back at another time when it is quieter.
• Be beach safe: Check there are lifeguards on duty if you plan on entering the water and always follow RNLI guidelines.
• Be responsible: Use the bins provided – waste is everyone’s responsibility, and we have seen bins overflowing while nearby bins have had space. When a bin is full, instead of leaving it, find an emptier bin. Or, even better, take your litter home with you and recycle it.
• Be respectful: Please park responsibly and be considerate to people who live in the area. Always leave room for emergency vehicles to get through.

*These are in addition to existing litter picking stations installed in Margate which we launched with Rise.Up.Clean.Up, earlier in the year.