I AM writing in response to the Mrs Chiswell’s letter (Daily Echo, April 30) regarding litter on Bournemouth’s beaches.

As portfolio holder for tourism, leisure and the arts, I share many of her frustrations. There is no excuse for people leaving rubbish on the seafront. Littering by those who don’t care about the environment is an issue which affects residents and visitors and costs everybody.

Bournemouth council invests heavily in keeping the beaches clean and satisfaction scores from last summer’s visitor survey reached 98 per cent, which was up two per cent on the previous survey in 2015. Over the recent Bank Holiday over 200,000 visitors came to Bournemouth to enjoy the exceptional weather. Every morning before 8am all the beaches had been cleaned and were in pristine condition.

However, there is no room for complacency and over the winter, the Council has been very active in taking steps to reduce litter on peak days including;

Linking with the Dorset Water Bottle Refill scheme for all Council run catering outlets.

Council motion to reduce the use/sale of plastics on the seafront.

Installed new super-sized, semi-submerged bins, in the Bournemouth Pier area.

Introduced the Leave Only Footprints education campaign.

Old and unsightly bins being replaced by 200 new bins.

Introduced composting disposable coffee cups and straws.

Continuing to fully support our wonderful community led litter teams.

Peak times will always be a challenge for any council. However, the seafront team will continue to work hard to improve the high standards they already achieve and we are more than aware that sometimes, we can do even better.

CLLR PAT OAKLEY, cabinet member for tourism, leisure and the arts, Bournemouth Council