Following feedback from residents, Thanet District Council has developed a Beach Management Plan to help members of the public enjoy the area safely.
The Plan contains a list of actions in relation to issues identified by local people including antisocial behaviour; irresponsible parking; public toilets; litter; beach huts and beach safety.
The plan is a collaborative effort between the council and its various partners including the RNLI, YourLeisure, Concessions and Kent Police.
Leader of Thanet District Council, Cllr Rick Everitt, said: “Following the Government’s easing of restrictions, like many coastal resorts, Thanet experienced a large and sudden influx of visitors to its beaches and open spaces. At any other time, the prospect of thousands travelling to our beaches would be something to celebrate but, in the circumstances, it created major logistical problems. Many businesses were not open, the normal preparations for the season had not been put in place and additional measures were needed to manage hygiene and social distancing in our public toilets.
“The council responded quickly with online information campaigns and signage across the coastline reminding people to maintain a safe distance, to use the bins provided and that normal facilities were not in place. There was also a phased reopening of our public toilets, additional bins were provided and cleansing team rotas were extended to provide service levels normally seen in the peak of the summer season.
“Whilst the vast majority of people using our beaches were respectful of the public health guidance and of each other, some were not. Some behaviour has been completely unacceptable and we hope that this Beach Management Plan will go some way to reassure residents and responsible beach users that we will do all we can to ensure people keep our beaches clean and respect our beautiful isle.”
Allen Head, RNLI Lifesaving Manager for Thanet, said: “This has been a challenging start to the season on Thanet’s beaches because of the unseasonably warm weather and the sudden easing of travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve been working closely with Thanet District Council to roll out lifeguard cover as rapidly as possible and will be supporting their Beach Management Plan throughout the next few months to keep local beaches as safe as possible.”
Antisocial behaviour on our beaches and promenades
We will increase our enforcement presence across our beaches and promenades, through the Bay Inspectors and our Enforcement Officers.
We will also utilise additional security staff where appropriate in the coming weeks and months.We will work with the Police and the RNLI to continually monitor the situation on the beaches and react when problems occur.
Lack of public knowledge of existing bylaws
Bylaws exist relating to the beaches and promenades such as dog control, craft control, hawking, loud music, horse riding, bonfires/barbecues, drinking, cycling, cars and general nuisances. We will do more to communicate these to the public.
The Bay Inspectors will also advise the public of these bylaws as and when needed.
Additional signage will be placed at strategic locations explaining what bylaws are in place and what enforcement action will be taken against anybody persistently breaching them.
Irresponsible parking during the warmer temperatures
We have programmed our parking enforcement activity around known hotspots in the warmer weather.
Whilst the Council does not have enforcement powers to deal with obstructions of private drives and parking on kerbs, we are working with Kent Police on these offences and looking to obtain further devolved powers to enable us to enforce against this activity.
We will use static and electronic signage to direct visitors to the beaches where sufficient parking is available.
Availability of beach public toilets
From the 30 May, eleven of our main beach public toilets were opened between 10am and 5pm.
We have increased the toilet cleansing operation from the 15 June to enable us to extend the opening hours to a daily schedule between 8.30am and 9.30am.
Toilets will be closed between 5.30pm and 8.00pm starting with those with the lowest footfall. Toilets at main bays will be open until at least 1900. Further details are available on the council’s website.
Seafront lift closures
Our seafront lifts at Viking Bay and Ramsgate Main Sands remain closed as a result of the national social distancing measures currently in place to slow the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Ensuring all businesses using our beaches and foreshores have sufficient licences and insurances in place
We will set out the standards and licenses required for businesses utilising our beaches and foreshores. Any business using our beaches and foreshores will require a licence. Those without a licence will not be permitted to operate and appropriate enforcement action will be taken.
Illegal launching of boats
We will work in partnership with the Water User Group, Bay Inspectors and the Water Safety contractor (RNLI) to monitor our seafront barriers and ensure they remain locked to non-registered users.
Installation of beach huts
We are undertaking a programme of work that includes sand levelling, turning on water supplies and showers and suitable toilet provision to enable Your Leisure to install the Beach Huts between the end of June and early July.
Large amount of litter left on beaches and foreshores and misuse of bin provision provided
Due to high footfall on beaches at this point of the season, the council’s additional summer season resource was implemented in mid-May (8 weeks earlier than previous years).
Concessions at a number of our bays have volunteered to pick litter and we have supplied them with the equipment.
To reduce the time between reporting of local litter issues and the clean-up, we have set up a system that enables the concessions to alert the council cleansing team to emerging waste issues and full bins. This also includes our Cleansing Supervisor engaging with concessions and Bay Inspectors in order to target beach cleaning resources to where it is most needed.
The Bay Inspectors are also supporting the cleansing service by issuing rubbish bags to the public, warning people who litter, monitoring litter bins and liaising with beach cleaners on litter hotspots.
Public Health Support for Kent and Medway Schools
As more children start to return to the classroom, local authorities and Public Health England have been together working to ensure a system is in place to help safeguard school communities against coronavirus.
Medway Council and Kent County Council, in collaboration with Public Health England, are working proactively to manage any cases of COVID-19 in schools to ensure any spread of the virus is minimised.
Public Health England’s Health Protection Team gives tailored advice to schools, including who needs to self-isolate, further infection control measures to take and any cleaning required. Close contacts of confirmed cases will also be contacted and advised on actions to take.
Trish Mannes, Deputy Director of Health Protection for PHE South East, said: “In the event of a confirmed case in a school, we have specialists on hand to give advice and support.
“Schools have been advised to ensure that anyone with symptoms stays at home. If they test positive they will need to self-isolate for 7 days and their household members for 14 days. Staff and children in the same class of a confirmed case are asked to self-isolate for 14 days, even if they have no symptoms, to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus.
“The symptoms to look out for include a new continuous cough, high temperature or loss or change to their sense of taste or smell.”
James Williams, Director of Public Health at Medway Council, said: “We have worked closely with Public Health England to offer our support and advice to schools while the staff and children return to the classroom. Head teachers have put measures in place to help prevent the spread of the virus based on their school setting, and the children have adapted extremely well to the changes.
“We will be working with Public Health England to support our communities if there is an outbreak of coronavirus to help reduce the spread of the virus and support those affected. It remains as important as ever that everyone continues to do their bit during this ongoing pandemic to prevent an outbreak, from regularly washing their hands to ensuring they maintain social distancing.”
Kent’s Director of Public Health Andrew Scott-Clark said: “The most important thing is identifying any cases as early as possible so that the necessary steps can be taken quickly to help prevent the virus spreading further, and also minimising the disruption caused to the school community.
“Schools are asked to ensure they follow national guidance and take certain measures to help reduce the spread of the virus, including staff and pupils washing their hands more often than usual for 20 seconds with soap and water, coughing and sneezing into tissues and promoting the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach, cleaning frequently touched surfaces regularly and minimising contact with other people as far as possible.”
