Hayling Island campaigners "shocked" after Havant Borough Council removes sewage spill warning flag from Beachlands

Havant Borough Council said the installation of green flags at Beachlands, Hayling Island has the potential to “mislead the public and bathers” and that they were removed following “council policy.” According to the local authority, the main issue with the community action is that a green flag - used to indicate a relatively low level of pollution - could be perceived as “meaning the water is safe to enter when it may not be.” It urged people to follow guidance from the RNLI for water safety. The flag bore the message “no sewage discharge reported in last 48 hours.”

A council spokesperson said: “However well-meaning the intent behind the water quality flags there is the potential for these to be confusing to the general public. The council strongly urges the public to only rely on official information about water quality provided by the Environment Agency (via Swimfo) and Southern Water (via Beachbuoy).”

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They added: “The council is also currently working with the Environment Agency and Southern Water to investigate the feasibility of installing electronic water quality signage along the seafront and will be publishing the findings in the coming months.”

The action was taken by members of the local community more than six months after the council unanimously passed the motion to investigate electronic signage installation at the bathing location. The News understands that the group responsible had planned to alternately use a red flag – before the first one was taken down.

Mike Owens of Hayling Sewage Watch said: "Whilst I broadly agree with council concerns about the meaning of green flags and liability issues now these have been presented, I am frankly shocked by the council's maladroit reaction to well intended community action.

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“The council unanimously voted to fix this problem in June 2023, since then hundreds of thousands of people have gone into the sea off Hayling Island completely oblivious to the threats of sewage poisoning, this is unacceptable. Current information provided by the council is either inadequate or irrelevant or obfuscated, it's simply absurd, all we want is 21st century near-real-time information to keep us all safe on council land.

“Havant Borough Council should reasonably have sought dialogue and collaboration with the community to find a solution; they did not do that. We should all be working together to sort this out- they know where to find us."

The group highlighted the importance of accessing the waters to local people, including those who find health benefits from cold water swimming.

Councillor Phil Munday from Havant Borough Council added: “In June we asked the council to look into providing electronic signage on Hayling beach. Since it is not clear what progress has been made by the Council, local residents have tried to set up a flag system to warn bathers of the water quality. It is a pity that the flag has been removed without adequate discussion because we all need to work together to best protect our bathers.”

Hayling West Councillor Paul Gray from Havant Borough Council who seconded the 21st June motion said: “Sadly, this is yet another case of being shocked but not surprised. Whilst I don't doubt that council officers have concerns over potential liabilities, the actions being taken favour shareholders instead of local residents. They are consistently putting the wealth of a very small number of people above the health of the rest of us.”

Beachgoers will be warned not to swim in Southsea this summer after the Environment Agency found a bathing site with poor water quality, downgrading the classification of Southsea East and Eastney bathing sites from “sufficient” and “excellent”, to “poor” and “good” respectively for the 2024 bathing season.