Resident shares concerns about Dovercourt's shingle beach

Tony Francis said he remembered when Dovercourt had a sandy beach which was the case for his own and his children’s formative years – but that was sadly not the case for his grandchildren.

Tony contacted the Harwich Standard over the state of the beach after a bulldozer was tasked with clearing shingle off the promenade and beach.

Tony said over the years the shingle beach at Dovercourt had emerged. 

Messy - Tony said a bulldozer was used this January due to the mess of shingles on the promenade (Image: Tony Francis)

He said he is now disappointed as Dovercourt beach was previously full of “golden sand”, similar to Walton.

Tony estimated that about 3-4ft down there would still be “perfect sand” but that this is now covered due to about 25 years of shingle stacking up at an “unnatural height”.

Determined - Tony Francis said he will not give up making Dovercourt beach sandy again (Image: Newsquest)

Regarding the financial cost of restoring the beach to its former state, Tony said it would be both good for tourism and the shingle could be quarried and sold “to have it away”.

Rising - Tony said he was concerned with the rising height of the beach due to shingle build-up (Image: Newsquest)

In response, Mike Bush, Tendring Council's Cabinet Member for Environment, said the material on beaches was “out of the council’s control”.

Mr Bush added: “Whether beaches are sandy or made of shingle – and how that changes over time – is something in the gift of nature except where there are large-scale sea defence works.

“We do monitor the quality of our beaches, and the beach at Dovercourt Bay is one of our finest – proudly bearing a Blue Flag award for a number of years now in recognition of its water quality and amenities.

"We look after aspects we can control, recognising the importance of our seafront to residents and visitors alike.”