Beach chaos: parking and littering anger BCP residents

For many, the perfect plan is to head to the beach.

During the summer months, beachgoers load up their cars with toys, drinks and snacks, all set for a day by the sea.

But for BCP residents, the sheer number of people flooding the beaches during the summer creates 'absolutely horrendous' problems concerning parking, traffic and beach litter.

"All we see is thousands of cars parking and driving erratically."

Beach traffic (Image: Kevin Hubble)

Colin Beck, a 47-year resident of Verwood, said the current beach parking situation is the worst he has ever seen.

He said: "It's a nightmare for everybody. People are abandoning their cars anywhere and everywhere, including double yellow lines, pavements, tow-away zones, and driveways.

"There is not a traffic warden in sight, so people know they can get away with it."

BCP Council has put up signs in tow-away zones. However, Colin maintains that cars are not being towed, and people choose to park in these areas.

Cllr Richard Herrett, portfolio holder for destination, leisure and commercial operations, said: "On beautiful weekends like the one just gone, many people choose to spend their time at our seafront.

 "The vast majority respect the area, but we were incredibly frustrated to see some drivers parking inconsiderately, and in some cases dangerously, at the expense of residents and businesses.

 "At busy times, we ensure more officers are on duty across the seafront."

When seafront car parks become full, the council has advised drivers to use the Avenue Road and Richmond Gardens car parks and take a stroll through the Lower Gardens and to the beach.

Over the weekend, from August 11 to 12, the council's enforcement team issued 1361 parking tickets, with 885 penalty charge notices on Sunday alone.

Tom Hayes, MP for Bournemouth East, criticised the parking situation, saying that the cost of parking fines is not enough of a deterrent to stop people from parking recklessly. However, the council said parking fines are set by the central government but intend to lobby ministers to tackle parking issues.

Tom Hayes (Image: Social media)

Mr Hayes said: "Bournemouth is a beautiful place that people want to come to.

"A majority of visitors obey the rules and spend money in our town, helping our businesses.

"There are also some outsiders who cause a nuisance, and they should be fined for illegal and inconsiderate parking."

Speaking on parking fines, Mr Hayes added: "Currently, the level of fines isn't much of a deterrent.

"I know that others, including Vikki Slade and Conor Burns, have been working on increased fines since 2019.

"I have recently met the new BCP Council Leader, said I support an increase, and I'm waiting on more information from the Council in order to ask the Government to get this over the line."

"Broken bottles, nappies, tents and toys, you name it, I've found it."

Litter being left behind by beachgoers is an ongoing issue which impacts the look and feel of the area.

Boscombe personal trainer Kevin Hubble said the amount of litter left on the beach is 'horrendous.

He said: "Our town gets treated like a trash can, enough is enough."

Kevin frequently participates in beach cleans on Boscombe Beach. On August 11, he and his son spent two hours picking up litter in the evening after people had left the beach. What he found was 'shocking'.

Kevin Hubble (Image: Kevin Hubble)

Kevin owns 360 Fitness, which operates on the beachfront. He spoke about the public's throw away culture, saying that he notices people coming to the area and buying beach toys, tents, food, and drink, leaving them behind at the end of the day.

He added: "The majority of locals take their rubbish home with them, but I think some people who don't live in the area just drive away and think it's not their problem anymore."

There are hundreds of bins lining BCP's seafront; however, on busy days, they fill up extremely quickly, and the public ends up leaving litter next to them or simply on the sand.

Litter spilling out the bins (Image: Kevin Hubble)

Cllr Richard Herrett said: "We obviously encourage everyone to use the bins provided rather than littering, but where possible or if full, making a choice to take their waste home away with them is the best option.

  "We also ask people to bring their own re-useable food containers, cutlery and to use the free water refill stations across the seafront to reduce the use of plastic bottles."

As a member of the sea conservation group Neptune's Pirates, Kevin voiced concerns about the environmental impact of litter on the beach.

He said: "The things people leave on the beach will inevitably end up in the sea.

"Seagulls peck at it thinking it's food and end up eating plastic, the rocks at the beach are made of polystyrene which break and get blown into the sea."

With Neptune's Pirates, Kevin goes on a big litter pick every three weeks and works to educate people on the impact litter can have on the environment.

 Speaking on education, Cllr Herrett added: "We continue to work to educate people about the effect of littering and to promote environmental awareness through our Leave Only Footprints campaign."

"Why are people not getting fined?"

Both Colin and Kevin commented on how they think the council should fine people for leaving litter on the beach.

"The council could make a fortune," Colin added.

Kevin said: "I really don't understand why they don't do it; it could bring in so much money to the town.

"I have so much respect for the three BCP Council lads who litter pick on the beach. However, they have such a large area to cover the council need to employ more staff."

Cllr Kieron Wilson, portfolio holder for housing and regulatory services, said: "We use Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) to impose conditions and restrictions in areas where disruptive activities may harm people's well-being or quality of life.

 "PSPOs empower authorised BCP Council and Dorset Police Officers to effectively address these issues so our communities can continue to enjoy all of our public spaces safely."

 BCP Council works in partnership with Waste Investigations Support & Enforcement (WISE) to impose littering fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for individuals - this applies to rubbish of all kinds - sweet wrappers, crisp packets, plastic bottles, chewing gum, cigarette butts and food waste.   

On this, Cllr Wilson added: "If an individual is caught littering, an enforcement officer from WISE will serve a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN), which can be issued for dropping litter of any kind, including sweet wrappers, crisp packets, chewing gum and cigarette butts."