Labour launches new coastal management plan

Local beaches are of huge importance to our residents as such the new Labour council has published its new coastal management plan, explaining to local residents how it will work to ensure they remain the jewel in the district’s crown.

The new management plan not only explains how we will combat beach littering but also sets out, for the first time, the work the council is doing to improve water quality in partnership with SOS Whitstable, tackle anti social behaviour with Kent Police and how we safety and securely remove washed up animals in partnership with Kent County Council. It explains situations in which the council may be flying flags warning residents of an increased risk of sewage in our seas before a discharge has been made.

Since 2021 huge steps have been made to improve rubbish collection on our beaches but it is Labour’s ambition to put an end to pictures of overflowing bins being eaten by sea gulls late at night. To this end Cllr Chris Cornell has been working to ensure this years plan includes:

• greater engagement and involvement of community litter picking groups who have identified locations for new bins and given a unique email address to report issues directly to CANECO during a shift
• new and improved signage on the seafront and coastal bins
• more large 1100l bins positioned at new locations in Whitstable Harbour and the Neptune Car Park. We are trialing new locations for picked rubbish and larger bin stores to prevent bags being pulled apart
• proactive engagement with businesses, through the Environmental Health team, to ensure street cleaners are not collecting commercial waste
• new plastic toy recycling points at both the bathing waters at Tankerton and Herne Bay

Going forward it is our ambition to increase the capacity of bins across the sea front, introduce on street recycling and have a clear and consistent multi channel marketing campaign which encourages people to take more responsibility after dark; we want to support community litter picking initiatives and invest in community art/education rather than enforcement which is not around when most of the problems happen after dark.

“Our street cleaners do a great job” said Cllr Chris “but can’t work 24 hours a day and safely after dark. Residents are right to expect our beaches to be clean but we need their patience in the morning and in turn they deserve to know we have a properly thought out plan in place. When one set of beach users are littering late into the evening and another are up at the crack of dawn walking their dogs- there will always be problems and as such we need to think smart and either encourage those after dark to take their litter home or strategically place the additional capacity where it is needed the most.”

The new plan is a “huge step forward” said Naomi Smith in people understanding how much resource the council spends on keeping our beaches clean. We look forward to “more investment” next year