The wonderful weather over the Bank Holiday weekend saw droves of visitors head for Seaford beach and Seaford Head Nature Reserve – great news for the town, but extremely bad news with regard to the amount of litter that was left behind.
Lewes District Council carried out the agreed additional collections along the promenade during this period of hot weather, but despite this litter bins were left overflowing and even more distressing was the volume of litter actually left on the beach.
At South Hill Barn, the entrance to the Nature Reserve, a recently installed Dog Waste bin was filled to the brim and surrounded by litter. The bin was put in place to accommodate dog owners and ensure that paths are free from excrement for walkers, it is not intended for litter. Litter bins have been removed from the area because it has proved impossible to deal with the capacity of rubbish left.
The message is clear: Please take your litter home with you.
By doing so the promenade can be kept in a cleaner state, without marauding seagulls and scavenging wildlife, and South Hill can remain an unspoilt area of natural beauty. There is also a saving to the taxpayer who does not have to meet the cost of clearing excess litter.
Councillor Alan Latham, Chairman of Community Services, was keen to reinforce this message, ‘ When bins are full it should be very easy to simply bag up rubbish and take it back home for disposal. If everyone can be encouraged to adhere to this our town would be a much nicer place for all.’
For members of the public who wish to do more than their fair share of keeping the beach clean, Two Minute Beach Clean boards, stocked with litter pickers and bags, are located at the Martello Kiosk, Frankie’s Beach Café and the Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club.
