Seven beaches in Tendring have been handed prestigious awards by Keep Britain Tidy – including three of the top Blue Flags.
Beaches at Brightlingsea, Dovercourt Bay, Harwich, Frinton, Walton-on-the-Naze and the town’s Albion beach, and Martello Bay in Clacton have all been given Seaside Awards in recognition of their quality.
In addition the beaches at Dovercourt Bay, Brightlingsea and Walton’s Albion beach kept their Blue Flag status, which Walton was awarded for the first time last year.
It means all Tendring seafronts have kept their accreditation from 2020.
Alex Porter, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism at Tendring District Council (TDC), said the awards were well-deserved recognition of the beauty of the area’s seafronts.
“The Essex Sunshine Coast is stunning, a brilliant asset for residents, visitors and the whole tourism industry,” Councillor Porter said.
“Recognising this is why we invest so much into them, with our Beach Patrol service in the high season, regular improvements to seafronts and promenades, or creating and protecting them with new beaches and cliff stabilisation projections.
“The awards are a great advert for the Essex Sunshine Coast, and it must be recognised that it is not easy to keep Blue Flag and Seaside Award status.
“Due to the Covid-19 restrictions we are anticipating a busy summer season – possibly the busiest ever – and these awards will boost that. We have been preparing for some time for this possible influx, and hope it will help our district get back to business.”
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: “This year, more than ever, we are going to be relying on our country’s beautiful beaches to escape for a much-needed break after all the stresses and strains of the past year.
“Last year, due to the pandemic, we did not have the opportunity to celebrate all the great award-winning beaches around the coast so this year we are delighted to have even more winners than we did in 2019, thanks to the incredible work of the teams around the country that make our beaches clean and safe for us all to enjoy.
“From environmental education for the local community and ensuring responsible beach use, to cleaning regimes and an increasing number of recycling facilities, it is a full-time commitment to create beaches worthy of these awards.
“As we all plan our 2021 holidays much closer to home, thanks to the Blue Flag and Seaside Award those choosing to holiday at a destination with an award-winning beach can be assured it will be clean and safe and meet the highest standards for water quality and management.”