Seafront safety a priority as hot weather predicted

June 21, 2020

With hot weather predicted this week Southend-on-Sea Borough Council is reminding people to ‘Stay Safe’ when visiting the seafront.

Our Blue Flag beaches are always popular when the weather is fine but recently there has been an increase in assistance required from the coastal rescue services.

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council is encouraging visitors to follow and respect local safety instructions whether from emergency services staff, council staff, volunteers, businesses or displayed on posters. And to ‘Stay safe, Stay apart’ by observing the 2 metre social distancing national guidance at all times.

Cllr Martin Terry, cabinet member for community safety and customer contact, said: “While we are pleased to welcome visitors back to the seafront, we must reinforce and reiterate Government and local guidance. If you come to our town, please do so safely. Visitors have been spreading out further along the seafront which is good news, but they need to be aware of the tides and not endanger themselves or others.

“Retail and take-away businesses are open but many attractions remain closed for now including the Fountains at City Beach. This is due, in part, to the difficulties associated with encouraging children, especially young children, to observe the 2 metre social distancing guidance in a relatively limited space where there is a high concentration of people.

“We know parents do their best, but young children simply are not able to understand social distancing and children of any age can forget when they’re having fun. We feel is it safest for the community at this time, to keep playgrounds closed and the fountains switched off. We do have the Lagoon and paddling areas along the seafront where children can play when the tide is out, at a safe distance from one another.

“We are learning and adapting as the national guidance changes, and we will continue to work together with seafront businesses to ensure that people who do decide to visit Southend-on-Sea, can do so safely and that our balanced approach also supports local people.”

More attractions at the seafront are expected to open in early July.

Beach safety

As the weather heats up again, in addition to the national advice, the Council wants to ensure a visit to the beach is remembered for all the right reasons. So please read the following:

• Supervise children and vulnerable adults at all times. There is safety in numbers.
• Wear jelly shoes or other sensible footwear on the beach and in the sea. Like with all seafronts, hidden dangers such as sharp shells and rocks may be hidden under the sand or water.
• Don’t climb the rocks: Several areas of our seafront have rocks, including our seafront lagoon at Three Shells Beach. Please do not climb them. Not only could you become injured, but you also risk falling injured into the sea, impeding your chances of swimming to safety.
• Slip, slap, slop, seek, slide: Sunburn is a leading cause of skin cancer. Sunstroke and dehydration are also extremely dangerous. Slip on a T-shirt, slop on some sun cream slap on a hat. Seek out some shade and slide on some sun glasses to protect your eyes too!
• Observe signs and flags: Heed warning signs and flags relating to the tides: they could save your life!

Please leave the seafront as you’d like to find it: put your litter in a bin and if the bins are full then take your rubbish home with you. Full litter bins should be reported via MySouthend: https://www.southend.gov.uk/MySouthend

For trusted information about Coronavirus, please visit: www.southend.gov.uk/coronavirus