Sandown will be the only beach on the Isle of Wight this year with a coveted Blue Flag.
The news came out today as Keep Britain Tidy, who set the criteria and judge the awards, announced the results for 2023.
Sandown also received a Seaside Award, as did Seagrove and Springvale (a non-bathing beach).
Why only one?
Ten years ago, in May 2023, the Island had four Blue Flag beaches as well as 13 Seaside Awards. This meant the Island, with 17, had the highest amount of awards in the whole country.
However, not receiving a Blue Flag does not necessarily mean the bathing facilities are below par.
Many local councils choose not to apply as the eligibility criteria (at least 25 items) can often lead to more expense for the cash-strapped councils.
Sandown Town Council prioritised funding to ensure they met all the criteria – well done to all who helped make it happen.
The recently-former Mayor, Paddy Lightfoot, told News OnTheWight,
“Sandown Town Council are delighted that the hard work and investment into beach services has resulted in the award of the Blue Flag for the third successive year.
“This award is a result of meeting many criteria, not just having excellent water quality. From educational activities such as Swimsafe, run by our lifeguards, teaching bay residents youngsters how to stay safe in the water, to a comprehensive lifeguard service which integrates with our beach concessionaires and inshore lifeboat service.
“Brand new toilets for this summer – cement a high quality beach, with nature doing its part to make this the best beach on the Island. Other facilities and services have developed on the back of this work, from beach accessible wheelchairs for adults and youngsters, operated by our lifeguards, to safety radios provided to beach concessionaires to aid in beach wide communication.
“The award itself is just the icing on the cake, its the fact that many organisations are working together to make this the beach to visit on the Island.”
He went on to say,
“We cannot ignore public concern over water quality and the high number of storm discharges into our water. This is a concern, but the environment agency water quality results, on the testing days, was excellent.
“We know that Southern Water is about to start a multi-million pound investment in Sandown to increase storm surge holding capacity, at the same time as working on reducing the overall volume of storm surge entering the system.
“Whether this stops the storm surge discharges or not only time will tell but obviously we would like to see them stop altogether.”
The world’s most recognised award for beaches and marinas
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said,
“Visitors to a beach flying a Blue Flag or Seaside Award can be assured the beach will be clean, safe and meet the highest environmental standards, as well as international bathing water quality standards.
“The Blue Flag is the world’s most recognised award for beaches and marinas and, in order to qualify, each applicant must meet and maintain a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria.
“We’d therefore like to recognise and applaud all those who have worked so hard to protect and improve some of our best-loved and most popular beaches. The collective efforts of beach managers, volunteers, residents and businesses all contribute to the success of these sites in achieving the incredibly high standards demanded.”
To see how other parts of the country faired see the Keep Britain Tidy Website.
Article edit
6.10pm 16th May 2023 – Comment from PL added
Image: © Sandown Carnival
