Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy has announced Hayling Island's Beachlands as one of the 77 locations in England to be given the international Blue Flag award for 2025.
Recognising outstanding beaches, the prestigious accolade is something Hayling Island has achieved consecutively for 34 years.
Keep Britain Tidy is a leading independent environmental charity that works to inspire, educate and enable everyone to value the environment on their doorstep.
The Blue Flag is a quality award which looks at four key areas:
- safety and services,
- environmental management,
- water quality
- information and environmental education.
Achieving Blue Flag status shows the efforts of Havant Borough Council, working in partnership with Norse South East, to support the local economy during the summer season.
Councillor Netty Shepherd, Cabinet lead for Commercial, said: “As an Islander I am delighted that we have been awarded the Blue Flag status for Beachlands once again. This designation means that our residents and visitors can come to the area confident in the knowledge that it meets Keep Britain Tidy's standard of being clean, safe, and well managed.
“We have listened to our regular seafront users and have recently moved the dedicated swim zone a short distance along the seafront, ensuring that all types of of water sports can be enjoyed safely.
"This being a very popular destination, we have taken steps to ensure the beach remains as clean as possible, which includes extra bins with additional collections throughout the day. I would encourage our visitors to use these facilities and leave the beach as clean as they find it. Regular litter picks will also be carried out throughout the day."
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: “In England we are lucky enough to have some of the best beaches in the world. It’s wonderful to see the flag flying proudly at Beachlands on Hayling Island, demonstrating their quality to residents and visitors alike.
“The awards are a credit to the collective efforts of beach and site managers, volunteers, residents and businesses who should take pride today in their tireless efforts to maintain, protect and improve some of our best-loved and most popular blue spaces.
“Visitors to a beach flying a Blue Flag can be assured the beach will be clean, safe and meet the highest environmental standards.”
Further information can be found at Blue Flag and Seaside Award | Keep Britain Tidy