Great news reaches us this week that Ventnor Beach has once again been awarded Blue Flag Status!
This is fabulous news, not only for visitors to our lovely beach, but it should have a great knock-on effect for the whole town.
There has been a huge amount of effort put into winning the award, so everyone involved should be heartily congratulated!
The last time Ventnor Beach was awarded a Blue Flag was back in 2003, but unfortunately due to a lack of regular lifeguards on the beach – we didn’t get awarded the next time round.
Beach Safety A Must
Back in late 2005/early 2006, a group of people concerned about the need for beach safety, formed the Ventnor Beach Safety Group (Sophie Blake, Mark Compton-Hall and Peter Redding). Through the use of grants they managed to buy in equipment and train up a team of lifeguards, who by the summer of 2006 worked the beach on a voluntary basis.
Later that year, you might recall how Sophie Blake led a rescue to help two young lads who’d got into trouble off the rocks by the Spyglass.
She was awarded by the RLSS for her bravery and not long after that the Council agreed to provide paid lifeguards to the beach.
What’s Needed For A Blue Flag?
This accolade isn’t handed out willy-nilly. In order to gain Blue Flag status there’s a whole heap of requirements that have to be met. Firstly, there needs to have been paid lifeguards on the beach for at least a year, so that’s one thing off the check list!
The two educational initiatives that we wrote about earlier in the week, the Rockpool Survey and the Beach Use Survey are both critical for Blue Flag qualification. As are the recycling bins that you will now see placed at the bottom of the cascade.
Water Quality
You’ll also remember that we reported a short while ago that the Marine Conservation Society tested the Ventnor water quality between May-Sept 2007 and recently awarded the beach with a recommendation stating ‘highest water quality and good sewage treatment’.
These are just a handful of the criteria needed to be met in order to win the Blue Flag status. Once again, well done to everyone involved.
With that one out of the way, perhaps efforts can be concentrated on pedestrianising the esplanade for certain times of the day, during certain months of the year.
Image of Ventnor Beach: John The Nomad
