More money to clear sand from beach walkways

In January 2024, the walkway was covered with piles of sand following the winter weather and storms

More money is to be spent clearing sand from walkways on Lincolnshire's beaches, a council said.

An East Lindsey District council meeting heard its Neighbourhood Service team had been provided with "supplementary capital and revenue funding to purchase specialist sand clearance machinery and recruit two members of staff."

Sand often blows off the beach on to walkways after periods of bad weather, in areas such as Sutton on Sea and Mablethorpe.

Councillor Martin Foster, portfolio holder for operation services, said: "We are pleased to be in the process of finalising the necessary additional funding to support our teams with sand clearance on our promenades."

He added: "We hope this further funding will ultimately allow us to increase our staffing numbers and invest in more specialist machinery.

"These solutions need to be right – not overnight – and it is important we go through the correct processes to ensure these steps can help provide effective approaches for many years to come."

Local businesses say the issue can have an impact on their trade

Catherine Hallsworth owns The Fat Seagull, a cafe near Sandilands beach in Sutton on Sea.

She said she wants to see a more permanent solution to the problem, instead of the sand repeatedly being cleared.

"I think the people of Sutton on Sea and along this coast would much rather see the money invested in a solution and not year on year throwing money at something that will never be solved.

"We are by the beach, we are going to get sand blowing up, and the way the beach has risen so much, it's become a problem.

"It's a complete waste of money - solve the problem instead of keeping on kicking the can down the road."

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