How often have you jumped in the car to head to the beach – only to find the beach is bulging with people when you get there ….. well not anymore!
Havant Borough Council has adopted a new innovative App to safeguard visitors and residents to Hayling Island and other beaches around the UK.
The Beach Check UK App allows beachgoers to stay Covid-safe by checking congestion levels at popular coastal areas before visiting, and either choosing less populated zones or beaches with lesser crowding to help maintain social distancing.
The App is based on a simple traffic light system displaying congestion levels for individually listed beaches or via an interactive map as either red (crowded), amber (less congested) or green (uncongested).
Funded by the government’s Local Digital Collaboration Unit at MHCLG and developed by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council the simple-to-use app is free to download and available from Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Councillor Clare Satchwell, Cabinet Lead for Planning, Hayling Seafront Strategy and Coastal Management said; “With stay-cations continuing to be popular this year we want people to visit Hayling Island and enjoy their time here. This app will help residents and visitors make an informed choice on how busy the main beaches and beach car parks are”
“Once you have the app, you can simply click a few buttons and check to see which area of the beach has the capacity to accommodate more visitors. This will help beach goers to avoid the hotspot areas, thereby encouraging social distancing.
The app allows you to look at all of the islands beautiful beaches or searched for individually named areas: West Beach, Central Beachlands, Chichester Avenue Beach and Eastoke Beach
Visit our dedicated Hayling Island seafront webpage before setting off for your day at the beach to find out the latest traffic information, beach safety, water quality and details on how to download the Beach Check UK App.