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COUNCIL BLAMED FOR SEASIDE SHAMBLES

By Emily Pearce - Thursday, May 15, 2008
COUNCIL BLAMED FOR SEASIDE SHAMBLES
The cliff face at Shanklin, which residents claim is in desperate need of attention. Picture by JENNIFER BURTON.
SHANKLIN residents have criticised the town council for failing to keep the town’s seafront clean, tidy and safe.
Ray Dyke, who has lived in Shanklin for more than 50 years, told this month’s meeting of Shanklin Town Council that the cliff face was in desperate need of attention.
He said: “The area is in a terrible state. There are overgrown gorse bushes, weeds and lots of rubbish. I know it’s up to the county council but this council must keep up the pressure to ensure something is done. No action has been taken since I brought this up a month ago.”
Cllr David Williams said the matter was being pursued with the IW Council, while town mayor Cllr Graham Nichols added: “I’ve been in this council for long enough to know you can’t wave a magic wand. We will keep up the pressure until the issue gets to the top of someone’s agenda.”
Stuart Love, IW Council director of environment and neighbourhoods, said: “Because of the nature of the terrain, there are difficulties gaining access to the cliffs to clear away the litter that has accumulated there.
“However, our parks and countryside and coastal management teams are looking at ways this litter can be removed quickly and safely.”
Mr Dyke’s fellow resident, Alan Hawkins, said action also needed to be taken over the amount of traffic on the revetment.
Mr Hawkins, who lets beach huts, deckchairs and windbreaks at Shanklin’s Hope Beach, said: “Dogs are allowed to run free along the revetment and cyclists come down from the cliff path at very high speeds. It’s ridiculous that children and holiday makers have to leap out of the way. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
He also pointed to the increased number of motor vehicles driving along the revetment.
Town centre manager Michael Howard said he was trying to educate people, by asking them politely to put dogs on leads and requesting that cyclists slow down.
Cllr Nichols said: “The problem is the revetment is classed as a sea defence and not a thoroughfare, so the usual laws can’t be applied. We will ask the IW Council to reconsider this.”