Bournemouth beach - “Major incident”

[BebeGlazer]

The local police and council have now declared that Bournemouth beach is scene of “major incident” because people will not stay away. Overcrowding, littering, desperately dangerous parking.

www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/18541911.bournemouth-beach-bcp-council-declares-major-incident/

Please, please, think kindly before travelling to small seaside towns at the moment. We cannot cope.

I see someone mentioned normal rubbish load.

On a normal June day they would anticipate between 8-14 tons of waste.

On Wednesday it was 33 tons and on Thursday it was 50 tons. So a lot more than normal. This causes issues in getting it all collected in time for the morning crowd. Volunteer groups were also out and about cleaning up the filth left behind as well.

It was documented on the news that human excrement was found on the beach in numerous places and not just gardens and behind the beach huts. Used sanitary products were also found on the beach.

These people were animals. They have no respect for the environment. Toilets were open but they couldn't be bothered to queue and the council were not expecting half a million people to turn up or I am sure like the air show they would have supplied more toilets if they could. Although would they have the manpower to clean the toilets which is much needed in the current climate? It is not as easy as sticking some portaloos up. They need cleaning!

If there was 50 tonnes of rubbish there must have been many people there, as you would like to think the majority are half decent human beings who would pick up after themselves

I was worried some of the idiots may have taken dogs with them and apparently some did. It seems one family took a young kitten with them having travelled 100 miles with it. They took it because their children did not want to be without it!

I honestly despair at the level of stupidity in the UK

Miljea, agree but the way I see it is, this fake news, photos taken at angles that misrepresent how busy it actually was, and long lens shots/photoshopped will put others off going so happy days !
Not so good for the local business owners though

People are stupid though the majority are much more stupid than you would think, I mean people keep voting conservatives in then complaining about cut backs ! So what can you do ! 🤷🏻‍♀️You can’t get too mad about it or you would go insane !!

@ineedaholidaynow

If there was 50 tonnes of rubbish there must have been many people there, as you would like to think the majority are half decent human beings who would pick up after themselves

Sadly I think it's a minority these days that take their rubbish with them. Just shocking behaviour. And how much more would have been washed into the sea to pollute our marine life?

I do regular beach cleans at Bournemouth through my work it has been heartbreaking to see.

All the people who don’t understand why locals don’t want tourists, this is why.

No one (other than the car park owner) is making money there. The locals don’t rely on tourism for income. They shouldn’t be having to go and pick up after twats.

@miljia the council didn't do the roadworks on the A338 the past two years to make it easier to get to Bournemouth at all. They were doing the roadworks to improve the Blackwater on slip, because it was so dangerous before, by adding another lane from that point so cars had longer to filter in to traffic already on the carriageway. It's mostly locals who use that slip because it's the ring road from Christchurch to Bournemouth and Poole.

They also replaced the inadequate drainage system there and created a road, which is still ongoing, so ambulances can access the hospital easier from the Wessex Way.

@miljea

Phone autocorrected

I went on the Wednesday - I oftem do during the week.
Too many kids and furloughed people who wouldn’t normally be there That’s obvious.
Son walked down from Alum to the pier. Said it’ll deteriorated as he did. He stopped by the pub. The pier area was awful.
I left at 4. Had parked for free at the top of the hill , I’d never seen illegal parking like that. Even on a bank holiday. Or smelled so much weed

Toilets and take away were open.

Lots of bins. Half full. Lots of people at Alum but not dangerous. Apparently it was by the Pier

Why not just top up your skin cancer risk in your own garden or local park? Why drive all that way to do it in the company of others?

@flamingoandjohn

I think a good way of dealing with the rubbish could perhaps be for local residents and businesses to come together for a mass litter-pick. Perhaps some of the furloughed hospitality staff could lend a hand!

That way it can be cleared in a way that is cost-effective and allows the residents to appreciate the positive impact tourism has on their area.

Defecating in gardens and dropping litter are not activities that should be encouraged or praised. It is not ideal that some people have done this and we should certainly not be praising people for abusing council staff or urinating in public.

However, these are all in the grand scheme of things very minor inconveniences compared to the huge economic and social benefit that tourism brings to coastal communities.

We should also not be castigating and flogging people who are stressed having just spent the last three months cooped up in tiny flats.

I think a good way of dealing with the rubbish could perhaps be for local residents and businesses to come together for a mass litter-pick. Perhaps some of the furloughed hospitality staff could lend a hand!

That way it can be cleared in a way that is cost-effective and allows the residents to appreciate the positive impact tourism has on their area.*

While the first para is a sensible enough idea, I fail to see how dealing with day trippers rubbish (mostly bought elsewhere not from supporting local businesses') will give any feeling of tourism having a positive impact.

Pretty sure that the 500,000 people who descended on Dorset don't all live in small flats though?

There is enough coastline to go around, no need for everyone to be squashed into a few beaches.

I wouldn't even consider going anywhere without knowing that there would be loos open to use. Who in their right mind would? On a day trip? Unbelievable.

@ErrolTheDragon

I think working with local businesses to clear rubbish would certainly allow residents to speak to those business owners and bring home to them just how much their local economy (and hence their personal happiness and wellbeing) depends on visitors.

Defecating in gardens and dropping litter are not activities that should be encouraged or praised. It is not ideal that some people have done this

'Not ideal?' Its completes and utterly unacceptable, regardless of the situation. There is absolutely no excuse for doing either. If you're visiting anywhere, just bring bags and take all your detritus home for disposal, if you can't find a bin that's got room in it. Double or triple bag if needbe. It's really not that hard to do.

@BostonCheers I fail to see how expecting human beings to BEHAVE like human beings by not defecating where they shouldn't and taking their own rubbish home is castigating and flogging them!! I really do think you are being goady.

However, these are all in the grand scheme of things very minor inconveniences compared to the huge economic and social benefit that tourism brings to coastal communities.

Have you ever been to Durdle Door?
There is nothing there. It’s not like Bournemouth or Weymouth where there are pubs, chip shops, tea rooms that are making money.

No one local is making money from people going to that beach and chucking rubbish around.

As an aside I have lived in a number of coastal towns and my job has never been tourism related. Most smaller coastal towns have industry there that doesn’t rely on tourists.

I don’t think goady, I think comprehension issue. 6 pages on and still every paragraph is the same despite several sensible counter arguments to the points made.

•We should also not be castigating and flogging people who are stressed having just spent the last three months cooped up in tiny flats.

So living in a flat gives you carte blanche to go around leaving litter and acting like a twat but living in a seaside town means that you aren’t aloud to complain?

@FlamingoAndJohn

Tourism contributes £1.8 billion to the Dorset economy every year, so Bournemouth would frankly be fucked if some of the ungrateful residents got their way and tourists decided to take their money elsewhere (like I'm doing in Spain this summer)!

It wouldn’t though. You’ve had 6 pages of people telling you that.

And 3 months indoors doesn’t turn you incontinent or feral.
You’ve had 6 pages of people telling you that.

What else have you got?

Are you going to Spain this year? I didn’t know that!

Except I did. 6 pages ago. Just go to fucking Spain and leave us alone

I think the biggest risk here were the packed trains bringing all the people to Bournmouth. A friend of a friend was travelling for work and apparently they were crammed and a lot were drinking alcohol on the train...