Stewarding the seafront this weekend

We’re again asking people to limit travel to the city and the seafront this weekend to protect public safety.

While restrictions are starting to be eased, the need for physical distancing has not changed. 

Stewards will be in place between 11am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday to monitor the central beach area from East Street to West Street. 

The stewards will be monitoring access to the beach and will put in restrictions if the area becomes too busy. 

They will advise people to go to less busy beaches. Last week, one of the central beaches was temporarily closed due to becoming too crowded.

No lifeguards on the beach

Our usual lifeguard service is not in operation at the moment.

Lifeguards normally patrol the city’s beaches from the end of May until the end of September but the Covid-19 pandemic and physical distancing restrictions interrupted our usual recruitment drive.

We would urge anyone going into the sea to take extreme care. The current is strong and the water is not as warm as it looks.

Please don’t take unnecessary risks that could put extra strain on emergency services at this difficult time.

We are hoping to have a limited lifeguard service in place soon and will announce any new arrangements as soon as we can.

Please check our lifeguards page for updates and safety advice.

There are also fewer toilets to use as government guidelines only permit businesses to operate on a takeaway basis. This does not include accessing seating or toilet facilities. 

We've been able to open more public toilets across the city this week, but capacity is still limited and they are likely to be over-crowded if the city is busy.