Dear Friends of Tankerton Bay,

Well, we reached our expected total of 4 tonnes of rubbish cleared (since April 2016) from the beach and Slopes during yesterday’s Beach Clean. Well done all! A great deal of this rubbish will have been tiny bits of plastic with seemingly no weight at all, so that’s a great achievement. We thought that perhaps some of our regular volunteers might like to meet up for a celebratory drink at some point; let us know if you’d be keen.

Despite a slightly concerning weather forecast, seemingly out of the blue (!) in the end we had a breezy but warm morning for our Beach Clean. We had 30 volunteers in total, including five youngsters, and three interested people who stopped by, and who hoped to join us next time.  You will be very welcome. We also had two local Councillors join us yesterday morning; Clare Turnbull and James Flanagan.  Many thanks to you too for supporting us.

Many of our volunteers commented that their haul was light this time; we always have to fight the urge to be disappointed with that, but of course that means that our monthly clean ups are working, and there is less litter to blow around and get caught up in the bushes and against the promenade wall.  Maybe Saturday’s strong easterly winds blew lots of things over into Whitstable!  Our total haul was as follows:-

Totals:                                   Last time:

Beach  13kgs                         (  8kgs)

Slopes  19kgs                       (37kgs)

Total    32kgs                       (45kgs)

Total to date since our first clear in April 2016:  4,008kgs

Finds included several pairs of sunglasses (including one Batman pair – broken), odd flip flops, some pants and socks, plus signs of parties, empty bottles (some broken), cans, a cracked gin glass, salt and pepper shakers….. and a ceramic soap dispenser.  Much evidence of smoking was found this time, which had been getting unusual – cigarette ends and disposable lighters. A golf ball, part of a barbecue, and a full and unopened milk shake drink added to the list. A mobile phone and a power pack found on the beach were left with the Lifeguards. Not sure how they could be forgotten!

One thing that concerned us; the condition of the pathway surfaces down from the top of the Slopes, about which warning notices have been displayed by the Council.  We were curious as to what remedial work is being considered, and when.  The main pathway is becoming twisted and steeper (although our collective old age might factor in there!) and the stepped path (marked by the Council by poorly painted yellow lines) is now becoming stepped even at the flat places.  A pushchair could cope, but not a wheelchair.

We also had an interaction or two with several dog owners, advising them re the “summer dogs orders” still in place till the end of September for the beach and promenade areas between the Pier Avenue steps and the Beacon House –  i.e. no dogs on the beach, and dogs on leads on the promenade. Volunteers also shared some stories of other recent times of non-compliance and raised the question about what, if any, enforcement has been/is being carried out in our Bay (including littering).

But all in all, we had a good hour and a half in the sunshine, and we got rid of a fair amount of unsightly rubbish, so thanks to all who joined us yesterday, as well as our usual thanks to our stalwart helpers with the kit, and to the Canenco operatives on the promenade for their tireless work in trying to keep our Bay clean and tidy every day.

The next Beach Clean will be on Sunday, the 6th October (again, !) from 9.15am until 10.30am.  As always, we’ll remind you all a couple of days beforehand.

Best wishes,

David, Marilyn, & Viv

for The Friends of Tankerton Bay