The bank holiday starts tonight and no doubt there will a rush to get away, either to the seaside (however the weather is not looking good for the south of England) to foreign parts where you are guaranteed warm and sunny weather. Or you might want to stay at home at home and do some DiY.
But before you pack the kids into the car and head down the beach, you might want to consider a report issued by the Marine Conservation Society, in its annual report ‘The Good Beach Guide’ it shows the number of beaches with excellent water quality has fallen by 10% since last year. The society blamed last year’s heavy rain for the decline and that the storms washed up more sewage onto the beaches.
I am lucky in that I only live about ¼ mile from the beach at Southend. I like to walk down the beach when the opportunity arises, but am disappointed at not only the quality of water but the amount of rubbish on the beach and on the seafront. The council has provided a vast amount of large wheelie bins on the seafront for rubbish (about the only good thing the council has done in the last 5 years though), but the people of Essex don’t seem to have grasped the idea that you put rubbish in bins and not on the ground or on the beach.
One of my work colleagues who lives in Kent commented on the amount of rubbish on the beach and in particular the amount of cigarette butts on the beach, in fact he his so disgusted that he longer goes to Southend. One case I know, but it does make you think if the beach and seafront were cleaner then this would attract more visitors. I would say that this would be the same not only for Southend but for other seaside towns and villages in the UK.
If any council member reads this, just think you have been elected to help the community, do something to help!
