Blue Flag and Seaside Awards for Marina and Pelham beaches

Hastings’ Pelham beach has been given Seaside Award (designated bathing water) and Marina beach the Combined Award of Blue Flag and Seaside Award. 

The Blue Flag and Seaside Awards are presented by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, recognising the very best beaches in England. This year there was an extra focus on the maps of beach areas. 

Cllr Glenn Haffenden, leader of Hastings Borough Council, said: “It’s fantastic news that Pelham and Marina beaches have been given these awards. They are a recognition of the hard work and dedication of our coastal and waste teams who maintain the beach and our facilities. 

“One of the key Blue Flag requirements is excellent bathing water quality. To meet this, there must be sampling points in the areas on our bathing beaches, as well as near potential pollution sources on the beach, including streams, rivers and stormwater outlets, to make sure these do not affect water quality. These samples are checked regularly and tested for both microbiological and physical-chemical parameters.  

“These strict environmental criteria around water quality have been challenging with issues with Southern Water. We meet regularly with them around their infrastructure investment in Hastings and will continue to pressure them to improve the water quality and service in Hastings.

“We all want to keep our beaches beautiful, please help us by taking your rubbish home, or putting it in the many waste and recycling bins we have on the seafront. If the bins are full, please report this on My Hastings. We have additional large bins on the seafront over the summer to deal with the extra rubbish produced. 

“We also have lifeguards provided by the RNLI at our bathing beaches over the busy summer period, so please follow their advice and check their website for more beach safety information.” 

You can find the full criteria that beaches must meet to receive the Blue Flag and Seaside awards on the Keep Britain Tidy website. These include more information on the strict water quality standards, which are measured independently at our bathing water beaches, Marina and Pelham. You can also check water quality ratings which are updated regularly, including the publishing of on-going results taken throughout the season. 

For more information on beaches in Hastings.