Skegness Beach Is Dirty Says Holidaymakers
Skegness has once again been featured on TV for all the wrong reasons. This time it has been described as having a dirty, filthy beach.
Each year Skegness is featured in the media for all the wrong reasons and now business owners in Skegness are fed up and want to know what East Lindsey Council is doing about it.
Skegness which has been described as the worst holiday resort in the country, has been featured in the media again, this time for having a filthy, dirty beach.
Local business owners who have seen a drop in the number of people visiting Skegness have said they are fed up with East Lindsey Council not doing enough to protect the image of the popular Lincolnshire seaside resort.
One business owner who did not wish to be named said East Lindsey Council is a waste of time while another employee who works in one of the many arcades said that East Lindsey Council is asleep on the job.
This year has seen local businesses in Skegness struggle with some saying they don’t know if this year will be their last year. The last thing business owners needed was for more bad press to put people off.
Even though there was evidence of rubbish being left on the beach, Skegness councillors have denied the claims of Skegness having the dirtiest beach in the UK.
The reviews about Skegness Beach include words such as “dirty”, “filthy”, “rubbish” and “litter” However, local councillors have said Skegness Beach received the 2023 Blue Flag Award, given to the town by Keep Britain Tidy, which is based on the quality of the beach and how it is managed.
Councillor Richard Cunnington, Urban District Society councillor for Skegness St Clements, said: “I don’t agree with the data. We have a tractor that goes out cleaning the beach.”
He has shocked local business owners by blaming the rubbish on the visitors. He said: “If the beach is messy then it shows the kind of people who keep coming here. It’s not the locals dropping the rubbish and it makes our town look bad.”
A local business owner who read the remarks by Councillor Richard Cunnington has called for him to resign. He said: “We are seeing fewer visitors come to Skegness and now Councillor Richard Cunnington is having a go at tourists. Why would people want to come to Skegness when a local councillor is having a go at them? This just proves my theory that we need fresh blood at East Lindsey Council. They don’t care about tourism.”
Councillor Richard Cunnington went on to say: “Skegness is one of the busiest resorts in the UK. If every person dropped a piece of litter, then there would be thousands of it. We have groups and organisations that pick up litter but it’s not all down to them. We need respect from the people who visit our town. There is no need to be dropping pieces of litter. I have even heard about nappies being buried in the sand.”
The councillor has claimed that the litter may be missed if it is dropped late at night. “We can’t wait for every person who has left the beach to do a clean,” he said. Councillor Billy Brookes, Urban District Society councillor for Skegness Scarborough & Seacroft, said: “Skegness beach is cleaned every morning. We get used to Skegness being linked to these reports.
“I go on the beach almost every day and it’s one of my favourite places to be. It’s a resort that attracts thousands of people every year and litter is part and parcel, and other resorts can only aspire to be like us.” Councillor Brookes also said that there were volunteer groups in the area that participated in beach cleans, including those organised by Skegness Aquarium.
In2Town Today News has spoken to holidaymakers and visitors in Skegness to see what they think about Skegness and Skegness being named as having a filthy beach.
Sarah from Manchester said she loves Skegness and has been coming to the popular seaside on and off for the past ten years. She said: “I have seen a huge difference in the past ten years. Skegness has had some improvements, but it is like a place that is not loved by those in charge. It is better than Cleethorpes which I went to last year, but it has become a bit tired in places.”
When asked about her opinion about Skegness being named as having a filthy beach, she had mixed feelings.
“When you look at the beach it is dirty in places. If you go to Scarborough Beach, the beach is always 100% clean. But in Skegness, it is like asking a child to tidy their room. They will tidy the places that you can see when you walk into the room, but in other places, they will not bother. And to be honest, that is what Skegness Beach is like.”
Mark from Boston said he loves Skegness and is fed up with all the bad press it receives. He does agree that meetings need to take place to improve the beach and make it cleaner.
He said: “I come to Skegness all the time; it is just up the road from me. I get annoyed when Skegness receives lots of bad press, but you cannot hide the fact that Skegness Beach is not the cleanest beach in the UK or Lincolnshire. The council does need to get their act together.”
We spoke to 50 people about what they thought about Skegness and the reports about Skegness having a filthy beach. Out of the 50 people, 38 people agreed that the beach did need improvements.
Business owners who rely on tourism want more action by the East Lindsey Council. Skegness has always been a popular holiday resort, but these continued bad media reports could result in important local businesses being forced to close due to the lack of tourism.