I READ with interest the latest letter on the subject of rubbish left on the beach by visitors.

I have previously responded a number of times to this issue generally and need to re-emphasise the significant amount of effort and cost undertaken by the council in dealing with this problem.

Your correspondent (STA Gibbons, Letters, Daily Echo, September 19) asks if the council realises that the seafront is the Unique Selling Point for Bournemouth.

I can confirm that the council absolutely does realise this, which is why we have been investing so heavily in the seafront strategy improvement works over the past few years.

There certainly was a problem for a few days in the middle of July in a relatively small area near Bournemouth Pier with lots of waste being left by a number of very selfish beach users.

However, as always occurs, by 9am each day the next morning the beach cleansing team had made the area spotless and I should like to congratulate them for doing such a wonderful job.

We have 35 people working on Bournemouth seafront year round, supplemented by a further 120 seasonal staff at the height of the summer.

The council has worked hard to ensure this vital service has not been cut in recent years and volunteers such as the Dorset Devils have added their support as well.

The blight of litter on the beach is incredibly frustrating, not least because if people didn’t leave their rubbish in the first place the council tax-payer wouldn’t have to pay to remove it.

The majority of beach users are thoughtful and either take their rubbish home with them or dispose of it in one of the 200+ council bins provided on the seafront.

CLLR LAWRENCE WILLIAMS

Cabinet Member for Tourism Leisure and The Arts

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