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Photo: Labour group.

Labour unhappy at waste on the seafront after busy tourist weekend

As visitors flock to Hastings to take advantage of the hot summer weather, Labour councillors have complained  of the Green-led administration’s failure to tackle waste on the seafront after one of the busiest tourist weekends of the year. Hastings Borough Council leader Cllr Glenn Haffenden responded to the criticism. Nick Terdre reports.

“From over-flowing bins to rubbish across the town centre , the council has completely failed to react to demand on a weekend anyone would have predicted would be busy,” said Labour group leader Cllr Helen Kay.

Across the seafront bins were overflowing and no adequate clear-up had been done ahead of the evening, she said. As a result seagulls made the situation worse by opening rubbish sacks left by responsible beach users for collection at the end of the day.

Photo: Labour group.

“The Greens have shown themselves to be utterly incapable of predicting demand that should be obvious to any sensible resident,” Cllr Kay added.

“Tourism is vital to our local economy, but this is the kind of thing that will make people stay away. We need better provision and better signage to keep our seafront clean. The Greens must do better.”

She demanded the council leadership task the Foreshore Trust to fund additional rubbish collections and bins over the summer season. “This is something Labour did in power, so it is not without precedent, so why wasn’t it done this year?” she asked.

The Labour Group also demanded better enforcement of fines for littering in order to deter visitors from leaving a mess.

Enhanced service

“The summer is always a busy time for our street cleaning team, and the service we have is enhanced during the summer because of this,” council leader Cllr Glenn Haffenden told HOT.

“The enhanced service includes an additional litter bin round supported by a larger HGV, additional seasonal bins placed out during school holidays, and one to two additional beach cleaners depending on staff availability.

“The service has been reduced over the last few years due to increasing pressure on the budget, but keeping the streets and beach clean is a council priority. Residents and visitors are encouraged to report any problems through My Hastings, with reports picked up directly by the team and addressed as quickly as possible.

“There are currently vacancies within the team which is making it more difficult for the team to respond to additional work requests.”

The Foreshore Trust has agreed to fund an extra beach cleaner, who is now in post, he added.

 

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Posted 10:15 Thursday, Jul 17, 2025 In: Local Government

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