Teignbridge retains Blue Flag and Seaside Awards

Mary Youlden
Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted Tuesday, May 23, 2017 - 5:07am

Teignbridge’s beaches have once again been recognised for being among the best in the UK following the annual Blue Flag and Seaside Awards, run by Keep Britain Tidy.

Dawlish Warren has been awarded Blue Flag status for the 19th year running and Teignmouth Town Beach, Coryton Cove at Dawlish and Dawlish Main Beach and Ness Cove at Shaldon have won Seaside Awards.

The announcements come just as the summer season gets underway with beaches and resorts hoping for another lively bank holiday this coming weekend.

By being awarded the coveted Blue Flag, Dawlish Warren shows it has passed tough criteria for environmental management, visitor facilities, cleanliness and clean bathing waters, meaning that residents and visitors to the resort can expect a top quality experience.

Coryton Cove, Dawlish, Ness Cove at Shaldon and Teignmouth Town Beach have all won Seaside Awards - something they have retained every year since the scheme started in 2008. For the first year Dawlish Town Council entered Dawlish Main Beach for a Seaside Award. The independently assessed seal of approval is awarded to beaches which achieve very high quality standards excellent cleanliness, safe access and appropriate signage.

All the awards reassure residents and visitors that they can look forward to some of our best loved beaches but can have confidence their visit will be enjoyable with all beaches maintaining high standards of management, cleanliness and safety.

Teignbridge District Council’s Resorts Manager Sarah Holgate said: “This is another set of great results for our beaches. It shows how hard Teignbridge works to have clean beaches and open spaces. We feel very proud of our safe, quality and unique beaches all of which are enjoyed by residents and visitors throughout the year.

“Together with our partners, we work hard to make sure our beaches reach these high standards and attract people to the area year after year. They’re also important for our residents as they are places to come where they can relax and improve their wellbeing. The multi-million-pound project at Dawlish Warren highlights our commitment to protecting and preserving the Warren and the homes around the Exe Estuary for many years to come.

“The announcement comes as we look forward to the bank holiday weekend and we will continue working to keep them at their very best. It is a real bonus to have these awards recognise these beautiful places – and we’d encourage anyone who hasn’t been to book a holiday to come to Teignbridge and see these places for themselves!”

Ann Tipper, Dawlish Town Clerk, said: “Dawlish Town Council is very proud that the excellent cleanliness, safe access and appropriate signage at the town beach has been recognised for the first time with a national Seaside Award and that Coryton Cove remains an award-winning beach.

“The town hopes it will have long-term success like Dawlish Warren which has won a Blue Flag Award for the 19th year in a row. It is very reassuring for grandmothers like me to know they can take the kids for a day on the sands and let them splash away to their heart’s content in safe sea water.”

Dawlish Warren is the focus of an innovative £14million engineering project aimed at reducing the risk of flooding to over 2,900 properties around the River Exe. The work is being led by the Environment Agency, contractor BMMJV and Teignbridge.

It involves increasing sand levels at the beach to protect defences through sand replenishment, replacing and refurbishing timber groynes and putting what looks like a giant sandbag (known as a ‘geotube’ container) into the vulnerable neck section of the Warren.

The work is being carefully phased to keep disruption to a minimum with the most complex being completed ahead of the school summer holidays. It means certain areas will be sectioned off during the May half term so work can be carried out safely although an area of beach will remain open.

Once finished it will improve the quality of Dawlish Warren beach and it is estimated that the economic benefit of continuing to shelter communities and the main railway line from storms is around £158million

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