There have been so many conversations about the bio-bead spillage since the beginning of November – and yet there has been so much misinformation, conjecture and hyperbole that came along at the same time. Media – both the social variety and the press variety – has reported and presented all sorts of different facts, versions and opinions. It is difficult to know what is true and what is false.
It’s no wonder, then, that so many people attended the January Parish Council meeting when an update was given by Southern Water’s Simon Fluendy (Stakeholder Engagement), and Ben Jones from the Operations Team for the Camber spillage.
One thing that has remained evident is the impact it has had on everyone’s lives. At the very start, back at the beginning of November, hundreds of Camber residents and business owners volunteered their time and effort to support our Coastal Officers in a clean-up operation. It soon became apparent that this was not going to be enough, given the scale of the pollution.
Dog walkers were initially deterred from visiting the beach until more was understood. Rother DC’s Environmental Health team acted quickly, bringing in the non-profit organisation, Nurdle, and enlisting the advice and services of the Environment Agency.
Signs were deployed all around the car parks and on the beach to warn visitors of the situation, using language such as “Pollution Alert!”. Social media reports, both official and unofficial, were warning people to stay away for the time being.
Very rapidly, this negatively impacted all of our local businesses – not just our pubs, eateries and shop, but also across the holiday-let industry along with their suppliers and services, such as cleaning companies, and our kitesurfing community.
In fact, every business has been impacted one way or another. Local businesses joined together to come up with a unified plan to promote Camber in a positive light after so much bad publicity, hoping to rescue the forthcoming summer season, and safeguard the few businesses we have left here.
Unfortunately, there has been so much speculation. There have been reports, in various places, that there were 10 tonnes of beads spilled, or was it 40 tonnes? And the clean-up operation will be completed by February, or will it be next October? 2026, or 2027? We where told “the beads are safe”, then no, “the beads are toxic”… We all hoped the representatives from Southern Water, Simon and Ben, could give us some clarity.
When Simon and Ben arrived at the January Parish Council meeting to give an update, they weren’t alone; around 20 villagers and business owners also showed up to listen to what they had to say, and to ask questions. Simon and Ben were contrite and apologetic – there is no doubting that Southern Water has now held their hands up to the spillage. They explained how the failed treatment works operates, and what went wrong, which subsequently caused the problem.
Many of those present at the meeting asked questions, each enquiry pertinent. Some questions Simon and Ben could answer (for example, it was actually 4.6 tonnes of beads that were spilled), and some questions they confessed they didn’t know the answer to, but would find and out report back (via the Parish Council).
Other questions were simply side-stepped. When asked whether the beads were toxic – as there have been varying reports – they said the beads were safe as far as they were aware, because their manufacturers had assured them that there was nothing toxic in the beads. This doesn’t really answer the question and, perhaps, Southern Water needs to clarify this for themselves. The Parish Councillors asked questions too, and came up with possible remedies and solutions – all extremely valid.
Our District Councillor, Paul Osborne, asked how Southern Water was going to support the local businesses through this crisis, summarising the numerous questions on all of the business owners’ minds, ranging from positive publicity to possible loss-of-earnings compensation.
Whilst Simon and Ben were not able to promise any action, they did vow to take the matter to the top echelons to get some answers. It was felt, generally, that Simon and Ben genuinely want to fight for our community. Camber has one major draw, which is the beach – and Southern Water has, effectively, wrecked it in terms of visitors. They need to put it right.
Meanwhile, the team from Nurdle has been working really hard to collect as many of the bio-beads as possible. It is painstaking work: taking the sand from a small section of the beach and sieving it to enable them to collect the beads.
A whole day’s work can result in just a couple of sacks full of beads, against the 4.6 tonnes that were released. The team is returning to Camber with each spring tide to collect the beads that have re-floated. Whilst they are here, they are using local air-bnb’s and buying all their food and meals locally, trying to support our businesses.
There are so many different aspects to this situation, involving numerous stakeholders. All that most of us can do is hope that the problem is dealt with efficiently and promptly, to restore our beach to its former glory as a jewel in the south east coast’s crown.
Meanwhile, local businesses and employers have joined forces to establish a working group that will actively promote Camber in a good and positive light.
At the moment, the group is very much in its early stages, although they have already incorporated a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/cambersands and an Instagram page: www.instagram.com/lovecambersands. We will be featuring a report from them in next month’s edition, outlining their approach, along with some information about how we can all get involved to help support them.
