"Please come back in a couple of weeks when we'll able to make some money from you"
No, it means what it says. The car parks were beyond full from early today and cars were parking up all over the shop, including on the pavements and verges forcing people into the road and or pinch points to pass. A lot of visitors are behaving like total dicks at the moment. They were out giving out tickets all day long so the council will have made more money today than in a couple of weeks when visitors are parking in their hotel car park, eating in restaurants, etc.
She's consistently said that the town is struggling with visitors due to sheer numbers for this time of year, lack of businesses to service them, staff being redeployed to other functions, staff shielding, staff sickness, putting in place social distancing measures in public toilets, etc.
If the parking is the main problem can they not ask the closed hotels etc open their car parks? It’s in everyone’s interest to get people into Bournemouth so the businesses that are open can make some money & the hotels will benefit in the long run from repeat trade if people have an enjoyable stay. This is coming from the 4th July weather we like it or not and the lockdown has been relaxed over the course of months , I would rather these councils concentrated on making it work & making it safe than discouraging people visiting, it can be done & done safely but it sounds like they are under prepared.
This is really unfair. The council here has done a huge amount in a very short space of time to make sure the resort is as ready as it can be to welcome tourism back on a large scale. Hence the request that people come after 4th July, not now when this work is still going on.
From simple things like investing in a lot of additional signage (which then has to be changed to 1m of course) or buying in barriers to socially distance queues through to taking on extra security staff to support those working on the beaches trying to remind people re:distancing, group sizes.
The truth is that not everything is going to be ready and open, because it can't. You cannot build a socially distant toilet block in a matter of a few weeks to replace one that was built in the 1970's. Nor can you go out and recruit and train 100's of temporary staff overnight.
The council has been working very, very closely with the local tourism industry but just like you and your pub, just because you don't see it, it doesn't mean it hasn't happened.
But they have had a few months not a few weeks , portable cabin loos that are not as bog standard (no pun intended) as people think are readily available at most times of years & are in abundance at the moment with the cancellation of most out door events. Bournemouth has always had loads of visitors on days like this & so it should it’s a lovely place , knowing a lot of people are furloughed & lockdown was being eased by the week I would have thought they would have been expecting it , I was & ive no doubt you were , it was ages ago photos were put up of the beaches packed , did they think it would get less busy as lockdown eased & we got further into summer? All my signage was done along time ago & we had an active discussion on exactly what it should say & knowing there was every chance the distance would be relaxed we stayed clear of anything that said two meters on it & the distancing message is still perfectly clear , it just took a bit of thought & planning.
They cannot use portaloos. They considered this some time ago. The amount of cleaning and emptying required to cope with miles of beaches prohibited this. They wouldn't last 15 mins before becoming worse than useless. Most of the toilet blocks are in fact open.
This...
...is not normal for a Wednesday when the kids are supposed to be at school. Last week, the beaches were empty at times. It's entirely different to planning for a normal summer.
The council find out about these things at the same time everyone else does, they're not privvy to any warning yet are supposed to push the government line i.e keep two metres apart for example.
As I said you've no idea what work is being done and what problems all local authorities are facing whilst also coping with the same situation as other businesses like staffing levels well below normal.
Portaloos are perfectly serviceable although expensive to do so , I’d charge for them & in fact I’d try & monetise as much as possible from all those people, without bars & restaurants there is a perfect chance to provide a service to the people & generate some income, rent space to food trucks ice cream etc there are plenty about twiddling their thumbs this summer as there are temporary staff at the moment to cover any staff shortages, I have people asking for work by the truckload at the moment. My kids were taken out of school in March and the general thought was they would not return untill September, as the situation got worse through April it was clear this was here for a while & it was also clear we couldn’t stay in lockdown forever, with most businesses shut I’d have thought it obvious that parks & beaches would be packed. Ive no idea what they are doing behind the scenes but whatever it is it’s not good enough judging by your pictures & comments but I bet what ever they are doing they don’t come across as many obstacles as the rest of us as most of my hurdles are put in front of me by the council.
There have been drive through concerts arranged for thousands in the past month or so all with toilets & food & drink & all rubbish cleared for the following day that start in July all over the uk this is a far bigger undertaking & I bet the thing that took the longest was the councils signing it off & providing licenses. Forward thinking & planning.
"Please come back in a couple of weeks when we'll able to make some money from you"
No, it means what it says. The car parks were beyond full from early today and cars were parking up all over the shop, including on the pavements and verges forcing people into the road and or pinch points to pass. A lot of visitors are behaving like total dicks at the moment. They were out giving out tickets all day long so the council will have made more money today than in a couple of weeks when visitors are parking in their hotel car park, eating in restaurants, etc.
She's consistently said that the town is struggling with visitors due to sheer numbers for this time of year, lack of businesses to service them, staff being redeployed to other functions, staff shielding, staff sickness, putting in place social distancing measures in public toilets, etc.
But she said please come back after the 4th July. How much of the overcrowding problem won't still be around then? It's not as if the museums and restaurants will be back to normal then.
There appears to be 2 separate concerns here.
1 Sophie wanting people to go home due to Covid risks in lockdown.
2 The leader of the council wanting people to come back in 10 days time when hotels, attractions, museums and restaurants are open. No Covid concerns because it will presumably be spread far more easily in the indoors establishments that she wants the public to spend their money on.
With regard to point 2. could it not just be that she's not naive enough to believe that tourists can be prevented from coming forever and coming back in a couple of weeks time when there's a lot more facilities for them is a pragmatic response to them turning up? Just for example, there's limited places they can get rid of the ridiculous amounts of alcohol visitors are downing in our open spaces.
It could be, although if the issue is a lack of open toilets then I think she should say that is the issue and do something about it like getting porta loos, rather than say come back when hotels, attractions, museums and restaurants are open.
If the leader of the council is misleading the public then that will certainly not help.
Plus I'm not sure how the public are meant to know without contacting a council which is a bit unrealistic. You have some resorts begging the public to come and others begging them not to come.
There was a hotel owner in Sherborne on the TV this morning, begging people to come to Sherborne, which I would have assumed would be the same everywhere. (not that a packed beach has any attraction for me). I just looked it up & it says 32 miles from Bournemouth.
I've explained the toilet situation, which serves as a useful example of the general public thinking they know more about providing council services than the council who've been providing those services for decades do. It happens all the time whatever the subject when it comes to council services tbh.
It was more a reference to spreading the crowds out at more venues around the resort tbh. At the moment, everyone coming to town is ending up on the beachfront or in the gardens. In a couple of weeks time they'll be able to use pubs, hotel facilities, in the shops, etc. Which will help spread the load around (perhaps not the right phrase in the circumstances!).
She's not misleading anyone, just the opposite in fact, she's being up front about the resort's capacity to cope at the moment.
The hotelier in Sherborne raises an interesting conundrum the council has had to manage too. There are hoteliers out there breaking the law by taking bookings, how does the council manage that situation and keep everyone happy? There's massive commercial pressures being applied to councils to support their tourism industry but at the same time they are expected to ensure the public are kept safe. It's not an easy line to tread where tourism is such an important part of the local economy.
"Please come back in a couple of weeks when we'll able to make some money from you"
No, it means what it says. The car parks were beyond full from early today and cars were parking up all over the shop, including on the pavements and verges forcing people into the road and or pinch points to pass. A lot of visitors are behaving like total dicks at the moment. They were out giving out tickets all day long so the council will have made more money today than in a couple of weeks when visitors are parking in their hotel car park, eating in restaurants, etc.
She's consistently said that the town is struggling with visitors due to sheer numbers for this time of year, lack of businesses to service them, staff being redeployed to other functions, staff shielding, staff sickness, putting in place social distancing measures in public toilets, etc.
If the parking is the main problem can they not ask the closed hotels etc open their car parks? It’s in everyone’s interest to get people into Bournemouth so the businesses that are open can make some money & the hotels will benefit in the long run from repeat trade if people have an enjoyable stay. This is coming from the 4th July weather we like it or not and the lockdown has been relaxed over the course of months , I would rather these councils concentrated on making it work & making it safe than discouraging people visiting, it can be done & done safely but it sounds like they are under prepared.
This is really unfair. The council here has done a huge amount in a very short space of time to make sure the resort is as ready as it can be to welcome tourism back on a large scale. Hence the request that people come after 4th July, not now when this work is still going on.
From simple things like investing in a lot of additional signage (which then has to be changed to 1m of course) or buying in barriers to socially distance queues through to taking on extra security staff to support those working on the beaches trying to remind people re:distancing, group sizes.
The truth is that not everything is going to be ready and open, because it can't. You cannot build a socially distant toilet block in a matter of a few weeks to replace one that was built in the 1970's. Nor can you go out and recruit and train 100's of temporary staff overnight.
The council has been working very, very closely with the local tourism industry but just like you and your pub, just because you don't see it, it doesn't mean it hasn't happened.
But they have had a few months not a few weeks , portable cabin loos that are not as bog standard (no pun intended) as people think are readily available at most times of years & are in abundance at the moment with the cancellation of most out door events. Bournemouth has always had loads of visitors on days like this & so it should it’s a lovely place , knowing a lot of people are furloughed & lockdown was being eased by the week I would have thought they would have been expecting it , I was & ive no doubt you were , it was ages ago photos were put up of the beaches packed , did they think it would get less busy as lockdown eased & we got further into summer? All my signage was done along time ago & we had an active discussion on exactly what it should say & knowing there was every chance the distance would be relaxed we stayed clear of anything that said two meters on it & the distancing message is still perfectly clear , it just took a bit of thought & planning.
They cannot use portaloos. They considered this some time ago. The amount of cleaning and emptying required to cope with miles of beaches prohibited this. They wouldn't last 15 mins before becoming worse than useless. Most of the toilet blocks are in fact open.
This...
...is not normal for a Wednesday when the kids are supposed to be at school. Last week, the beaches were empty at times. It's entirely different to planning for a normal summer.
The council find out about these things at the same time everyone else does, they're not privvy to any warning yet are supposed to push the government line i.e keep two metres apart for example.
As I said you've no idea what work is being done and what problems all local authorities are facing whilst also coping with the same situation as other businesses like staffing levels well below normal.
Portaloos are perfectly serviceable although expensive to do so , I’d charge for them & in fact I’d try & monetise as much as possible from all those people, without bars & restaurants there is a perfect chance to provide a service to the people & generate some income, rent space to food trucks ice cream etc there are plenty about twiddling their thumbs this summer as there are temporary staff at the moment to cover any staff shortages, I have people asking for work by the truckload at the moment. My kids were taken out of school in March and the general thought was they would not return untill September, as the situation got worse through April it was clear this was here for a while & it was also clear we couldn’t stay in lockdown forever, with most businesses shut I’d have thought it obvious that parks & beaches would be packed. Ive no idea what they are doing behind the scenes but whatever it is it’s not good enough judging by your pictures & comments but I bet what ever they are doing they don’t come across as many obstacles as the rest of us as most of my hurdles are put in front of me by the council.
There have been drive through concerts arranged for thousands in the past month or so all with toilets & food & drink & all rubbish cleared for the following day that start in July all over the uk this is a far bigger undertaking & I bet the thing that took the longest was the councils signing it off & providing licenses. Forward thinking & planning.
No ostriches.
Okay. How do you get a truck down an 7 mile long prom multiple times a day to empty the portaloos when it's as busy as that then? Do you think people will just stop using a portaloo when it's out of service? How many surfaces inside a portaloo are going to need cleaning every 20 minutes or whatever is deemed appropriate? How many do you need and at what cost when there are 10,000's sometimes 100,000+ using the beach. Where do you put them where they don't cause an additional hazard?
As I've said, it took a while but almost all the toilet blocks on the front are now open anyway.
There's normally 300+ beachfront staff employed alone. They are still recruiting but at one stage recently there were only 25 available. They spend most of their days looking after those in and on the water because there are no lifeguards currently. Not their primary role but yet another duty they've been tasked with. When they're not doing that they are getting abused, assaulted and even spat at by beach users. Hence now the council are having to recruit security staff. For the beach. Just think about that situation. Could that have been foreseen?
You find somewhere to put them, unfortunately it’s the same thinking as a lot of the council’s & it drags things down always looking for the problems not the solutions. i have no mains drainage & have a 100k sewage treatment plant & the water comes out of the other end drinkable as verified by my council every year for a mere £1100 for my license to discharge it into a brook , being the location have they looked into this to connect temporary loos ? It takes a week to install & just 2 months for the council planning! And yes the security question could have been foreseen , if you tell people they can’t do as they want they get annoyed, if you put plans in place you need someone to enforce them, a lot of pub staff will be faced with being abused & spat at & assaulted as they tell people they have to sit down & wont be served at the bar etc but this can absolutely be foreseen & those expecting it will have security arranged as we do as an industry every single weekend just think about that situation. Is anyone in your council experienced in event management, as there is regular crowds there I presume they have some employed or at least consult with some kind of event management company.
You find somewhere to put them, unfortunately it’s the same thinking as a lot of the council’s & it drags things down always looking for the problems not the solutions. i have no mains drainage & have a 100k sewage treatment plant & the water comes out of the other end drinkable as verified by my council every year for a mere £1100 for my license to discharge it into a brook , being the location have they looked into this to connect temporary loos ? It takes a week to install & just 2 months for the council planning! And yes the security question could have been foreseen , if you tell people they can’t do as they want they get annoyed, if you put plans in place you need someone to enforce them, a lot of pub staff will be faced with being abused & spat at & assaulted as they tell people they have to sit down & wont be served at the bar etc but this can absolutely be foreseen & those expecting it will have security arranged as we do as an industry every single weekend just think about that situation. Is anyone in your council experienced in event management, as there is regular crowds there I presume they have some employed or at least consult with some kind of event management company.
I'm not going to spend any more time arguing this point with you as you clearly know more about it than people who've been in the job of providing beachfront services for decades. See my point above about everybody thinking they know better than their local council.
Yes, there is an events team in place and every year, for example, they put on an air show that attracts circa 1m visitors so they do know a little about the subject of planning for mass events. Planning for mass events in the middle of a public health crisis is slightly more challenging I'd suggest.
Okay. How do you get a truck down an 7 mile long prom multiple times a day to empty the portaloos when it's as busy as that then? Do you think people will just stop using a portaloo when it's out of service? How many surfaces inside a portaloo are going to need cleaning every 20 minutes or whatever is deemed appropriate? How many do you need and at what cost when there are 10,000's sometimes 100,000+ using the beach. Where do you put them where they don't cause an additional hazard?
As I've said, it took a while but almost all the toilet blocks on the front are now open anyway.
There's normally 300+ beachfront staff employed alone. They are still recruiting but at one stage recently there were only 25 available. They spend most of their days looking after those in and on the water because there are no lifeguards currently. Not their primary role but yet another duty they've been tasked with. When they're not doing that they are getting abused, assaulted and even spat at by beach users. Hence now the council are having to recruit security staff. For the beach. Just think about that situation. Could that have been foreseen?
Maybe Bournemouth council needs to phone Brighton council and ask for advice. They seem to be coping with portaloos on the seafront.
Okay. How do you get a truck down an 7 mile long prom multiple times a day to empty the portaloos when it's as busy as that then? Do you think people will just stop using a portaloo when it's out of service? How many surfaces inside a portaloo are going to need cleaning every 20 minutes or whatever is deemed appropriate? How many do you need and at what cost when there are 10,000's sometimes 100,000+ using the beach. Where do you put them where they don't cause an additional hazard?
As I've said, it took a while but almost all the toilet blocks on the front are now open anyway.
There's normally 300+ beachfront staff employed alone. They are still recruiting but at one stage recently there were only 25 available. They spend most of their days looking after those in and on the water because there are no lifeguards currently. Not their primary role but yet another duty they've been tasked with. When they're not doing that they are getting abused, assaulted and even spat at by beach users. Hence now the council are having to recruit security staff. For the beach. Just think about that situation. Could that have been foreseen?
Maybe Bournemouth council needs to phone Brighton council and ask for advice. They seem to be coping with portaloos on the seafront.
Okay. How do you get a truck down an 7 mile long prom multiple times a day to empty the portaloos when it's as busy as that then? Do you think people will just stop using a portaloo when it's out of service? How many surfaces inside a portaloo are going to need cleaning every 20 minutes or whatever is deemed appropriate? How many do you need and at what cost when there are 10,000's sometimes 100,000+ using the beach. Where do you put them where they don't cause an additional hazard?
As I've said, it took a while but almost all the toilet blocks on the front are now open anyway.
There's normally 300+ beachfront staff employed alone. They are still recruiting but at one stage recently there were only 25 available. They spend most of their days looking after those in and on the water because there are no lifeguards currently. Not their primary role but yet another duty they've been tasked with. When they're not doing that they are getting abused, assaulted and even spat at by beach users. Hence now the council are having to recruit security staff. For the beach. Just think about that situation. Could that have been foreseen?
Maybe Bournemouth council needs to phone Brighton council and ask for advice. They seem to be coping with portaloos on the seafront.
They aren't toilets, they are Caroline Lucas' woke booths
You go in when you need a chi recharge and to release negative energy and centrist thoughts, which is manifested as human faecal matter
Okay. How do you get a truck down an 7 mile long prom multiple times a day to empty the portaloos when it's as busy as that then? Do you think people will just stop using a portaloo when it's out of service? How many surfaces inside a portaloo are going to need cleaning every 20 minutes or whatever is deemed appropriate? How many do you need and at what cost when there are 10,000's sometimes 100,000+ using the beach. Where do you put them where they don't cause an additional hazard?
As I've said, it took a while but almost all the toilet blocks on the front are now open anyway.
There's normally 300+ beachfront staff employed alone. They are still recruiting but at one stage recently there were only 25 available. They spend most of their days looking after those in and on the water because there are no lifeguards currently. Not their primary role but yet another duty they've been tasked with. When they're not doing that they are getting abused, assaulted and even spat at by beach users. Hence now the council are having to recruit security staff. For the beach. Just think about that situation. Could that have been foreseen?
Maybe Bournemouth council needs to phone Brighton council and ask for advice. They seem to be coping with portaloos on the seafront.
That basketball court alone is wider than the vast majority of the prom here. Where does everyone else, including cyclists, pass safely when there's a queue? How do you ensure emergency vehicle access? If Brighton feel able to service those then great but what works for Brighton might not be suitable for elsewhere.
Full disclosure, I know the people responsible the decision not to use portaloos. I've worked with them for over 20 years. They are not "computer says no!" types or "ostriches" with a negative attitude at all. Just the opposite actually. If portaloos had been the solution to the problem after Boris Johnson told people overnight to go to the beach, then they would have been in place. But they weren't viable, so they put the effort into getting the existing toilets into service and making them safe for users and staff instead.
I realise I'm coming across as defensive of the local authorities efforts, and I will defend them where it's appropriate, because I know just how hard the staff have been working behind the scenes to get the place open and ready to deal with the influx of visitors. It's very easy to come up with, "Just..." solutions to problems when you don't have all the information in front of you.
You find somewhere to put them, unfortunately it’s the same thinking as a lot of the council’s & it drags things down always looking for the problems not the solutions. i have no mains drainage & have a 100k sewage treatment plant & the water comes out of the other end drinkable as verified by my council every year for a mere £1100 for my license to discharge it into a brook , being the location have they looked into this to connect temporary loos ? It takes a week to install & just 2 months for the council planning! And yes the security question could have been foreseen , if you tell people they can’t do as they want they get annoyed, if you put plans in place you need someone to enforce them, a lot of pub staff will be faced with being abused & spat at & assaulted as they tell people they have to sit down & wont be served at the bar etc but this can absolutely be foreseen & those expecting it will have security arranged as we do as an industry every single weekend just think about that situation. Is anyone in your council experienced in event management, as there is regular crowds there I presume they have some employed or at least consult with some kind of event management company.
I'm not going to spend any more time arguing this point with you as you clearly know more about it than people who've been in the job of providing beachfront services for decades. See my point above about everybody thinking they know better than their local council.
Yes, there is an events team in place and every year, for example, they put on an air show that attracts circa 1m visitors so they do know a little about the subject of planning for mass events. Planning for mass events in the middle of a public health crisis is slightly more challenging I'd suggest.
No need for an argument ,I’ve been to the air show & it was a well run event.
I always think people can do more & most of the time they can & I do have some experience in event management ,coincidentally in air shows too albeit a small cog in a big machine , the 1st company I invested in was an outdoor events company based in Chichester the same year we started we took over the contract at Kent county cricket ground where I worked previously, 12 months later we were hosting the opening match’s of the 1999 World Cup a huge undertaking for a new company, we arranged marquees ,toilets & catering for both Maidstone & royal tunbridge wells festival weeks ,we also had a contract for farnborough air show and the Paris air show (mostly catered for at the Lawrence ground & driven over) , the ramesgate yacht regatta , dance parties etc 75% of our business was in locations that had no fixed premises so the logistics of these events is something I know well.
i have organised events in the weirdest most awkward locations but appreciate it being hard in the current climate but see it as another surmountable obstacle, these things need quick thinking & quick action , not possible is not something I generally do.
Where is everyone having a jimmy and a richard without these bogs open ?
At the risk of getting 'bogged' down on the subject, most of the toilets are now open. When the brakes came off overnight and 10,000's visitors starting rocking up from Southampton, London, Birmingham, wherever, it was carnage. You really did not want to see what was going on behind the beach huts, it was disgraceful and disgusting.
Basically, it seems like we went from dealing with the worst behaviour of our home grown twats to dealing with half of southern England's twats in a very short time.
I don't understand the attraction of sitting on an overcrowded beach. We have a long enough coastline in this country for people to choose less crowded places to sit.
I don't understand the attraction of sitting on an overcrowded beach. We have a long enough coastline in this country for people to choose less crowded places to sit.
I'm absolutely the same, crowded british resorts are the opposite of fun, stressful, white noise, messy and a fly trap for arseholes and general arseholery
Problem is the majority expect all the trimmings with a trip to the beach. Toilets, amenities, ice cream stalls and Van's, fast food. In a lot of other countries I have visited you go to the beach and you take anything you need with you, the beach is the beach and less of a resort if that makes sense.
Brighton beach and Margate spring to mind, nice beaches but the logistical management needed to deal with humans is substantial, just clearing up is a massive undertaking and a shameful one
Botany Bay is a bit better because it's not so accessible and it's essentially, sand, sea and some toilets at the bottom of the walk down.
I don't understand the attraction of sitting on an overcrowded beach. We have a long enough coastline in this country for people to choose less crowded places to sit.
I'm absolutely the same, crowded british resorts are the opposite of fun, stressful, white noise, messy and a fly trap for arseholes and general arseholery
Problem is the majority expect all the trimmings with a trip to the beach. Toilets, amenities, ice cream stalls and Van's, fast food. In a lot of other countries I have visited you go to the beach and you take anything you need with you, the beach is the beach and less of a resort if that makes sense.
Brighton beach and Margate spring to mind, nice beaches but the logistical management needed to deal with humans is substantial, just clearing up is a massive undertaking and a shameful one
Botany Bay is a bit better because it's not so accessible and it's essentially, sand, sea and some toilets at the bottom of the walk down.
I don't understand the attraction of sitting on an overcrowded beach. We have a long enough coastline in this country for people to choose less crowded places to sit.
I'm absolutely the same, crowded british resorts are the opposite of fun, stressful, white noise, messy and a fly trap for arseholes and general arseholery
Problem is the majority expect all the trimmings with a trip to the beach. Toilets, amenities, ice cream stalls and Van's, fast food. In a lot of other countries I have visited you go to the beach and you take anything you need with you, the beach is the beach and less of a resort if that makes sense.
Brighton beach and Margate spring to mind, nice beaches but the logistical management needed to deal with humans is substantial, just clearing up is a massive undertaking and a shameful one
Botany Bay is a bit better because it's not so accessible and it's essentially, sand, sea and some toilets at the bottom of the walk down.
I would not call them toilets at Botany Bay. I’ve seen more presentable scenes in a Glasgow crack den
I don't understand the attraction of sitting on an overcrowded beach. We have a long enough coastline in this country for people to choose less crowded places to sit.
I'm absolutely the same, crowded british resorts are the opposite of fun, stressful, white noise, messy and a fly trap for arseholes and general arseholery
Problem is the majority expect all the trimmings with a trip to the beach. Toilets, amenities, ice cream stalls and Van's, fast food. In a lot of other countries I have visited you go to the beach and you take anything you need with you, the beach is the beach and less of a resort if that makes sense.
Brighton beach and Margate spring to mind, nice beaches but the logistical management needed to deal with humans is substantial, just clearing up is a massive undertaking and a shameful one
Botany Bay is a bit better because it's not so accessible and it's essentially, sand, sea and some toilets at the bottom of the walk down.
I would not call them toilets at Botany Bay. I’ve seen more presentable scenes in a Glasgow crack den
Come on - you can’t leave it there - tell us about your visits to Glasgow crack dens 🤪
So, what beaches have people been to that have full toilet facilities open, and somewhere to get some food and drink to keep the kids refreshed ?
I’ve not been myself but Weston-super-Mare was on the bbc news this morning talking to RNLI who r working in bubbles to avoid spread & it looked like it was well prepared for a bumper day today but looks can be deceiving it could b carnage b4 lunch, no beaches my way but the lakes in MK have split into four quarters as such with each having there own hot food truck,cold drinks & ice cream & separate portable toilet cabins to stop people all having to walk around to get them from a central point & it’s being marshalled to stop over crowding
Went for an evening walk at the beach yesterday, thinking it would be quiet at 9pm - I was mistaken! Felt very strange being around so many people so got back in the car and left. Toilets were open and there was a queue of about 50 to get in
Bournemouth Council has declared a major incident after so many people descended on the beaches. They say there have been disgraceful scenes and they have issued a record number of parking fines.
Probably the infrastructure of the town hasn't been set up yet to deal with the numbers, and as @Bournemouth Addick has said, the place is struggling badly
Probably the infrastructure of the town hasn't been set up yet to deal with the numbers, and as @Bournemouth Addick has said, the place is struggling badly
No, it's just a few extra sunbathers apparently.
The fact we are still battling a fecking pandemic seems to have passed a lot of the public by and they need looking after for their own good as they don't seem blessed in the common sense department that our government seems to be relying on.
Comments
My kids were taken out of school in March and the general thought was they would not return untill September, as the situation got worse through April it was clear this was here for a while & it was also clear we couldn’t stay in lockdown forever, with most businesses shut I’d have thought it obvious that parks & beaches would be packed.
Ive no idea what they are doing behind the scenes but whatever it is it’s not good enough judging by your pictures & comments but I bet what ever they are doing they don’t come across as many obstacles as the rest of us as most of my hurdles are put in front of me by the council.
There have been drive through concerts arranged for thousands in the past month or so all with toilets & food & drink & all rubbish cleared for the following day that start in July all over the uk this is a far bigger undertaking & I bet the thing that took the longest was the councils signing it off & providing licenses.
Forward thinking & planning.
It was more a reference to spreading the crowds out at more venues around the resort tbh. At the moment, everyone coming to town is ending up on the beachfront or in the gardens. In a couple of weeks time they'll be able to use pubs, hotel facilities, in the shops, etc. Which will help spread the load around (perhaps not the right phrase in the circumstances!).
She's not misleading anyone, just the opposite in fact, she's being up front about the resort's capacity to cope at the moment.
The hotelier in Sherborne raises an interesting conundrum the council has had to manage too. There are hoteliers out there breaking the law by taking bookings, how does the council manage that situation and keep everyone happy? There's massive commercial pressures being applied to councils to support their tourism industry but at the same time they are expected to ensure the public are kept safe. It's not an easy line to tread where tourism is such an important part of the local economy.
As I've said, it took a while but almost all the toilet blocks on the front are now open anyway.
There's normally 300+ beachfront staff employed alone. They are still recruiting but at one stage recently there were only 25 available. They spend most of their days looking after those in and on the water because there are no lifeguards currently. Not their primary role but yet another duty they've been tasked with. When they're not doing that they are getting abused, assaulted and even spat at by beach users. Hence now the council are having to recruit security staff. For the beach. Just think about that situation. Could that have been foreseen?
i have no mains drainage & have a 100k sewage treatment plant & the water comes out of the other end drinkable as verified by my council every year for a mere £1100 for my license to discharge it into a brook , being the location have they looked into this to connect temporary loos ? It takes a week to install & just 2 months for the council planning!
And yes the security question could have been foreseen , if you tell people they can’t do as they want they get annoyed, if you put plans in place you need someone to enforce them, a lot of pub staff will be faced with being abused & spat at & assaulted as they tell people they have to sit down & wont be served at the bar etc but this can absolutely be foreseen & those expecting it will have security arranged as we do as an industry every single weekend just think about that situation.
Is anyone in your council experienced in event management, as there is regular crowds there I presume they have some employed or at least consult with some kind of event management company.
Yes, there is an events team in place and every year, for example, they put on an air show that attracts circa 1m visitors so they do know a little about the subject of planning for mass events. Planning for mass events in the middle of a public health crisis is slightly more challenging I'd suggest.
You go in when you need a chi recharge and to release negative energy and centrist thoughts, which is manifested as human faecal matter
Full disclosure, I know the people responsible the decision not to use portaloos. I've worked with them for over 20 years. They are not "computer says no!" types or "ostriches" with a negative attitude at all. Just the opposite actually. If portaloos had been the solution to the problem after Boris Johnson told people overnight to go to the beach, then they would have been in place. But they weren't viable, so they put the effort into getting the existing toilets into service and making them safe for users and staff instead.
I realise I'm coming across as defensive of the local authorities efforts, and I will defend them where it's appropriate, because I know just how hard the staff have been working behind the scenes to get the place open and ready to deal with the influx of visitors. It's very easy to come up with, "Just..." solutions to problems when you don't have all the information in front of you.
I always think people can do more & most of the time they can & I do have some experience in event management ,coincidentally in air shows too albeit a small cog in a big machine , the 1st company I invested in was an outdoor events company based in Chichester the same year we started we took over the contract at Kent county cricket ground where I worked previously, 12 months later we were hosting the opening match’s of the 1999 World Cup a huge undertaking for a new company, we arranged marquees ,toilets & catering for both Maidstone & royal tunbridge wells festival weeks ,we also had a contract for farnborough air show and the Paris air show (mostly catered for at the Lawrence ground & driven over) , the ramesgate yacht regatta , dance parties etc 75% of our business was in locations that had no fixed premises so the logistics of these events is something I know well.
i have organised events in the weirdest most awkward locations but appreciate it being hard in the current climate but see it as another surmountable obstacle, these things need quick thinking & quick action , not possible is not something I generally do.
Basically, it seems like we went from dealing with the worst behaviour of our home grown twats to dealing with half of southern England's twats in a very short time.
agree with ME14, why on earth anyone at the moment would want to sit on a packed beach is beyond me.
Problem is the majority expect all the trimmings with a trip to the beach. Toilets, amenities, ice cream stalls and Van's, fast food. In a lot of other countries I have visited you go to the beach and you take anything you need with you, the beach is the beach and less of a resort if that makes sense.
Brighton beach and Margate spring to mind, nice beaches but the logistical management needed to deal with humans is substantial, just clearing up is a massive undertaking and a shameful one
Botany Bay is a bit better because it's not so accessible and it's essentially, sand, sea and some toilets at the bottom of the walk down.
Or Glastonbury rather than listening through a high quality sound system at home.
Or a table in a busy restaurant rather than a table in a private room.
I could go on!
no beaches my way but the lakes in MK have split into four quarters as such with each having there own hot food truck,cold drinks & ice cream & separate portable toilet cabins to stop people all having to walk around to get them from a central point & it’s being marshalled to stop over crowding
It's been coming. I believe the police are considering issuing a dispersal order.
The fact we are still battling a fecking pandemic seems to have passed a lot of the public by and they need looking after for their own good as they don't seem blessed in the common sense department that our government seems to be relying on.