The reality of life in Kent’s ‘best suburb’ that’s plagued by sewage

People in one of Kent’s ‘best places to live’ have spoken out on an issue that has now plagued the suburb for multiple years. Muddy Stilettos has recently announced its updated list for the 10 best places to settle down in the Garden of England^[1], and Tankerton in Whitstable^[2] made the cut.

Praised for its easy access to Whitstable, the travel blog described Tankerton as: “The seaside suburb of one of Kent’s most celebrated and stylish seaside towns. Think coastal cool, foodie reputation and community spirit.”

While the area has plenty of wonderful features to highlight and celebrate, there has been one key issue that has proved a large point of contention for some time now. In recent years, Tankerton has become a hot spot for sewage releases, so much so that at the end of 2022 it was found that this patch of the Kent coast had seen more Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) than anywhere else in the county^[3].

More than 170 ‘events’ were recorded that amounted to 529 hours of wastewater pumped into the sea at this bathing site. These releases take place during bouts of heavy rain to combat flooding, and comprise both sewage and rainwater, with Southern Water previously stating that they are ‘heavily diluted’.

Earlier this year a large demonstration was held in protest of the continued releases, with SOS Whitstable demanding an end to the sewage dumping and harsher penalties for those responsible. Releases have been a common occurrence throughout 2023, with releases having already taken place this week as Storm Debi landed in the UK.^[6][7]

Following Tankerton’s addition to the list of Kent’s ‘best places to live’, KentLive^[8] headed out to see just what the locals and visitors made of the news, and to find out just what kind of impact the sewage releases have been having on the area.

‘I would be surprised if it wasn’t on the list’

John Higgs, 62, is a frequent visitor of Tankerton and felt its placement on the Muddy Stilettos list was highly deserved. “I can see it being named one of the best, doesn’t surprise me,” John said.

“It’s just a lovely area, you’ve got Whitstable at one end, Herne Bay at the other. I’ve walked up and down the whole coast and this is one of the nicest areas there is.

“It’s quite quiet as well, and it’s such a desirable place to live, property prices are up, everyone’s making their houses bigger. I would be surprised if it wasn’t on the list.

“The sewage is certainly in the news a lot, people are aware of it. I notice how much people are talking about it. This whole sewage thing is a concern and a shame because obviously people have doubts about swimming and going in the water now. It would be good if they stopped doing it.”

‘I wouldn’t want to bring a small child to a beach where there’s been sewage’

Angela Maxted has lived in Tankerton for 30 years and has seen the impact the continuous sewage releases have had on the suburb first hand. She explained: “There’s certainly evidence, when there’s been a release, you can see that the beaches are empty.

“This summer, when I’d been walking along the beach first thing in the morning when it had just been announced that there had been a release, there was nobody coming. I wouldn’t want to bring a small child to a beach where there’s been sewage.

“I hope, for the whole country and certainly the south east, that the government actually holds the water companies to account, they are fined and they sort out the sewage problems because in this day and age it’s unacceptable to have raw sewage going into the sea. I don’t think it affects the reputation of Tankerton, I think it affects the reputation of the water companies responsible.

“It’s really, really sad because it’s such a lovely stretch of coast along here and it’s relatively safe to be. Tankerton making the list doesn’t surprise me because I think the high street in the last probably five years has really improved quite dramatically.”

‘Every year there’s less and less people swimming’

Tim Walsh, 62, moved to Tankerton in the last year after living in Whitstable for multiple decades. He said: “No, I'm not surprised it’s on the list. It’s a really lovely area, lots of appeal.

“There’s a brilliant high street with lots of good little independents, maybe a few too many fast food places but I suppose those are the ones that bring in a lot of money. Of course, the real big problem that we have is the sewage in the sea.

“I think it really has had an effect, every year there’s less and less people swimming. Even on a day like today, when it is choppier, that wouldn’t have stopped people before, they would’ve got all the right gear on and gone in.

“Now, on a day like this where there has been another release, there’s absolutely no one swimming. It is sad to see. During the summer, I was ill for about a week or 10 days after going swimming in the sea and I’m convinced it was because of that.”

‘It’s made a huge impact’

Sue Pitt, 65, is another frequent visitor of the Whitstable area and has also seen the effect of the continued sewage released. “It’s got lots of lovely walks along the seashore, with lots of nice individual shops and cafes,” she began.

“I knew there’d been problems with sewage along this bit of the coast, it’s the same down at Thanet. It doesn’t affect my opinion of the area, it’s the people that release the sewage, that’s who needs to get their act together.

“I swim in the sea but I wouldn’t bring my grandchildren around all these areas. I've chatted to people from around here when I’m going into the sea and I think that it’s made a huge impact.”

Get more news from KentLive straight to your inbox for free HERE.^[9]

References

1. ^{^} 10 best places to settle down in the Garden of England (www.kentlive.news)
2. ^{^} Whitstable (www.kentlive.news)
3. ^{^} more Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) than anywhere else in the county (www.kentlive.news)
4. ^{^} Historic monument in Canterbury at risk of being lost forever (www.kentlive.news)
5. ^{^} Folkestone's Christmas lights switch on programme and timings (www.kentlive.news)
6. ^{^} a large demonstration was held in protest of the continued releases (www.kentlive.news)
7. ^{^} taken place this week as Storm Debi landed in the UK. (www.kentlive.news)
8. ^{^} KentLive (www.kentlive.news)
9. ^{^} HERE. (data.reachplc.com)