This in from Luisa Hillard, in her own words. Ed
Community spirit is alive and well in East Cowes! A dedicated group of residents from East Cowes recently met up at the Esplanade for their first community beach clean, supported by Surfers Against Sewage, the Footprint Trust, Island Roads, the Isle of Wight Council and the CPRE.
There was a good turn-out of residents of all ages, including members of the East Cowes Business Association and local councillors.
All ages involved
Mr Michael Douse who was one of the organisers said,
“Local residents of all ages in East Cowes are proud of their beach, which merits Environment Agency Beach Designation status, and should be treasured by everybody.”
Cllr Luisa Hillard, local member for East Cowes and Executive member for Sustainability, Environment and Public Realm said,
“As the Executive member responsible for beaches I am very supportive of what my local residents are trying to achieve. I was happy to attend with my children and they had a great time doing the litter pick. For them it was a treasure hunt – beach combing for rubbish – before enjoying the great playground at the Esplanade.”
Bathing beach designation
The beach clean is a response to the revelation this summer that East Cowes is not currently designated as a bathing beach by the Isle of Wight Council despite being regularly used by both residents and visitors.
Water quality testing
With many reported raw sewage leaks reported in the last few months the hope is that water quality testing will help to provide evidence of such events and support the Environment Agency in their investigations and enforcement action.
Image: © With kind permission of Allan Marsh
