“Operation Heatwave” to continue over Bank Holiday

August 25, 2016 by Southend Borough Council Press Release

“Operation Heatwave” to continue over Bank Holiday

Thursday 25th August 2016

An initiative to help visitors enjoy a safe visit to Southend’s popular seafront is set to be put in force this weekend.

Operation Heatwave – which brings together teams responsible for highways, parking, waste, the police and local businesses (through the Southend Business Improvement District) – aims to prevent and respond to several issues that arise when the sun comes out during weekends or school holidays, drawing thousands of visitors from near and far.

Although temperatures are set to drop to the low 20s over the coming days, high numbers of visitors are still expected to visit the town over the Bank Holiday, massively benefitting the local economy. To prepare for the visitor influx, local organisations are jointly preparing to roll out a number of measures that will help relieve stress on local roads and car parks, tackle beach litter and quickly reunite any lost children with their families.

The Council is also reminding visitors of actions they can take to keep safe on the beaches, after several serious incidents occurred this weekend at other resorts in the UK.

Cllr Ann Holland, Executive Councillor for Culture, Tourism & the Economy, said: “It’s all about providing a safe and pleasant visitor experience that leaves people wanting to return to our town.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for visitors to reach the seafront, respond swiftly if children become lost from their parents, keep our town and award-winning beaches as clean as possible and prevent people coming to harm when visiting the beach..

“We can only achieve this by working closely together, planning ahead and ensuring we have resources available when they are most needed.

“I’m pleased to see the good progress on this new operation, which I hope will bring mutual benefits to visitors, residents and local businesses alike.”

Southend-on-Sea is one of the country’s most popular seaside destinations welcoming approximately 6.5 million visitors each year. For the latest visitor information www.visitsouthend.co.uk

The following actions all contribute to Operation Heatwave:

Beach safety
The Council offers the following advice to help ensure a visit to the beach is remembered for all the right reasons.

• Supervise children and vulnerable adults at all times. There is safety in numbers.
• Wear jelly shoes or other sensible footwear on the beach and in the sea. Like with all seafronts, hidden dangers such as sharp shells and rocks may be hidden under the sand or water.
• Don’t climb the rocks: Several areas of our seafront have rocks. Please do not climb them. Not only could you become injured, but you also risk falling injured into the sea, impeding your chances of swimming to safety.
• Slip, slap, slop, seek, slide: Sunburn is a leading cause of skin cancer. Sunstroke and dehydration are also extremely dangerous. Slip on a T-shirt, slop on some sun cream slap on a hat. Seek out some shade and slide on some sun glasses to protect your eyes too!
• Observe signs and flags: Heed warning signs and flags: they could save your life!

To download a beach safety guide produced by the RNLI, please visit: www.beachsmart.org.uk

Parking
The Council will be encouraging parking in its town centre car parks, to support the seafront car parks, which can fill up quickly. Most town centre car parks are a mere five-to-ten minute walk from the seafront.

Blue Flag award winning beaches at Shoebury and Thorpe Bay offer great places to enjoy the seaside and there is often plenty of parking even when central areas are full.

Vehicles queuing to access already full seafront car parks can contribute to congestion in the town. As town centre car parking is cheaper than peak season parking by the beaches, visitors could spend less time and money getting to the beach by parking up in town and walking.

Overflow car parking at Southend Civic Centre and the Beecroft Gallery will also be signed from Victoria Avenue over the weekend. Meanwhile, employees of APCOA – the Council’s enforcement contractor – will be providing extra resource at car parks to assist motorists more easily find available spaces.

Traffic
Visitors are being urged to ‘let the train take the strain’ and travel sustainably to town. Train travel is also being promoted by C2C, who have now launched attractive Southend offers from their Fenchurch Street to Southend Central line.

The Abellio Greater Anglia line from Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria is also a popular choice for many and ‘GroupSave’ discounts for people travelling together are valid on both lines.

Electronic traffic signage will be actively updated throughout the weekend to help inform visitors of accurate traffic and parking information. The Blue Flag award-winning beaches at Shoebury Common and Thorpe Bay will also be promoted, to encourage visits to these less visited areas.

Litter
The Council’s waste contractor, Veolia, are putting extra staff on standby to quickly respond to any issues of beach littering. The company’s new beach combing machines will be combing the beaches during the mornings to prepare for visitors while litter pickers will patrol the beaches in the evening to pick up any litter left behind. Staff from the council’s waste team will also be part of a high-visibility presence over the weekend.

Missing children
Southend Business Improvement District (BID) will be continuing to promote its wristband scheme, which aims to reunite lost children with their families.

Southend BID has produced the wristbands for children to wear on which parents or carers can write their name and contact number. In the event, the youngster gets separated or becomes lost, a phone call to the number can help reunite them with family.

Further information about the scheme – and where to get a wrist band – can be found here.