Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group

Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group look after the shingle beach at Cleveleys. Their aim is to improve the area for everyone who uses it – residents of Cleveleys or visitors. Just as importantly, it’s about making friends and having fun too!

It’s the original Fylde Coast beach-care group. They look after the northern area of public seafront at Cleveleys. From the cafe opposite The Venue up to the five bar gate at Rossall School.

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Join Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group

Anyone of any age, from anywhere is welcome to come along and join in! There’s a community beach clean and a separate meeting each month for you to join in with. Plus other activities and events throughout the year.

Brew and Meet – Monthly Meetings of the Rossall Beach Group

Once every four weeks, the group meets to hear from speakers on different topics of local interest. Subjects range from what’s happening within the group, to environmental issues. Things specific to our town, the wider Cleveleys area or interesting topical things.

Everyone is welcome to come along and learn something new, make friends and generally be part of the local community. It’s an informal setting with refreshments included. Just come along, there’s no need to book, and you’ll be made very welcome.

Meetings in 2024

Wednesday afternoons – meetings are held at 2.30pm Cleveleys Community Church Centre, corner of Kensington/Beach Road, Cleveleys. Find out which interesting speaker you can hear at each meeting from the groups Facebook page

• 24 January 2024
• 28 February
• 27 March
• 24 April
• 22 May
• 26 June
• 24 July
• 21 August – including AGM
• 18 September
• 16 October
• 20 November

In 2016 just short of 100 people enjoyed a talk by local historian Ken Emery. He spoke about the folklore and fact of lost villages and archaeological finds, right off Rossall Beach at Cleveleys. This talk was repeated in 2018 to an audience of the same size!

The size of the audience was unexpected but very welcome. Other local experts also came along, with many enthusiasts who shared their own anecdotes and evidence. A fascinating insight into a lost world, which turns out to be directly offshore from our very own beach.

Community Beach Cleans

Why don’t you join the Rossall Beach Group community beach clean, every four weeks on a Monday morning?

It’s good fun and comes with a warm sense of achievement. It’s a popular event which regulars and new people alike enjoy.

• Meet at 9.30am by the flagpole at Rossall Prom, FY5 1LP at Cleveleys. It’s where the seafront car parking area is near to Rossall School.
• All equipment is provided.
• Please wear sensible shoes for walking on the pebble beach.
• Make sure you wrap up warm. It’s always much colder on the beach and you can always take some layers off.
• From about 11am head to The Venue for a brew and a natter. Not able to come out litter picking? You can still come along for the coffee and join in with the friendship. Everyone welcome.

2024 Beach Clean Dates

• 8 January 2024
• 12 February
• 11 March
• 8 April
• 13 May
• 10 June
• 8 July
• 5 August
• 2 September
• Special SUNDAY beach clean in September at 1:30 pm (date TBC) – the MCS big beach clean event. This is held nationally at beaches all over the UK in September each year.
• 7 October
• 4 November
• 9 December

Where does the litter come from?

In conjunction with Coast Watchers, the Rossall Beach Group is also beginning a project to look at how litter moves about on the beach.

All you have to do is come along to monthly events and join in.

Beach clean photos – Monday 21 May 2018

Why don’t you come along? You can come to the beach, join the group for coffee, and do both! Just come along, and join in.

Staff from Virgin Media, based in Manchester, came along to help in May 2018:

Lone Beach Cleaners

Would you like to beach clean at a different time or on your own? You might want to join the army of Lone Beach Cleaners.

Regular group members can borrow litter picking equipment. Just report the amount of litter which you collect for the log.

Join In

• Find out more on Facebook at Rossall Beach Buddies.

• You can also join the Rossall Beach Buddies Facebook Group

• Follow the Rossall Beach Buddies on Twitter

Discarded Things: Rossall Beach

Discarded Things is a creative response to the worrying statistic that ‘by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish’.

Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group worked in partnership with arts organisation LeftCoast and artists Invisible Flock.

Celebration Event

On 11 September 2016 a celebration event was held to launch a pop up exhibition about the project. Plus a special close up preview of the new artwork before it flew off to its new home at Northfold School.

Visitors were treated to Hotpot and Sea Shanties, and invited to look at the Rossall Beach Buddies Roadshow.

During the following 10 days, the pop-up cabin played host to a variety of drop-in events and workshops. People found out about the project and the group. And how each of us can individually be more responsible for the world in which we live.

MCS September Beach Clean

It was also the hub for the Marine Conservation Society Great British Beach Clean on Sunday 12th. It’s an annual event which the group host each year.

The pop-up cabin was a rip-roaring success. Hundreds of people came through the doors, with a lot of community spirit generated. Plus some really good things achieved during the time.

More About Discarded Things

In 2015 Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group began working with LeftCoast. They explored how they could commission an artist to develop a creative response to their much loved local beach. In particular looking at the work they do on their monthly beach cleans and how people respond to the beach. The group developed an artist brief that was advertised nationally to see how artists might work with them.

In early 2016 the group invited artist collective Invisible Flock to work with them to deliver their vision. Inspired by the work of the Rossall Beach cleaning group, the artists decided to see how they could directly respond to the plastic that is washed up on our beaches. The people of Cleveleys were asked to donate their unwanted plastic bottles for reuse. And send a special message in a bottle.

New artwork from discarded objects

Using brand new technology the artists built a machine to grind up plastics. They turned it into printing filament then used a 3D printer to create a beautiful new object from discarded things.

These two birds were 3D printed and inscribed with messages from the community. They’re on display at Northfold Primary School.

The Red Arrows visit Rossall Beach

Sunday 7 August 2016

Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group tried to hold an information afternoon on 7 August. True to form the wind was so wild that it was a struggle even standing up never mind hosting an event!

7 August was also the day of the Blackpool Airshow and the Beach Buddies were delighted that the Red Arrows had very kindly agreed to their request to perform a special fly-past on Rossall Beach.

Despite the wind that still took place, much to the delight of hundreds of people. Many were out on the promenade, others watched from their own gardens and living room windows.

Public Life Saving Equipment on Rossall Beach

Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group provided an Automatic External De­fibrillator (AED) adjacent to the shingle beach at Cleveleys for use by the public.

Your chance of surviving a heart attack is significantly improved with early CPR and defibrillation and without this, a person’s chance of surviving will decrease by 7-10% for every minute that treatment is delayed.

The UK Resuscitation Council suggests that a defib­rillator should be available wherever medical treatment is more than 5 minutes away. Our beach is always such an incredibly busy place and next to an area of dense housing, so being able to provide this facility is a wonderful benefit to the many hundreds of visitors and local residents.

The Rossall Beach Group has worked with the North West Ambulance Service to provide this piece of equipment for use by any member of the public in case of a medical emergency. Having dialled 999 for emergency assistance the operator will talk you through the patient’s condition, and if they decide that treatment is necessary the operator will provide a digital code for the keypad on the bright yellow housing unit, which releases the defi­brillator for immediate use.

Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service awarded to Rossall Beach Residents & Community Group

Published June 2014

Cleveleys based Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group are delighted to have been chosen as one of just two groups in Lancashire to receive the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) for 2014. It’s the MBE for groups of volunteers who work in their local community for the benefit of others.

This unique national honour was created by Her Majesty to mark the Golden Jubilee in 2002 and to recognise the outstanding contributions made to local communities by groups of volunteers; it has an equivalent status for voluntary groups to the MBE for individuals and is the highest award given to such groups across the UK for outstanding work done in their local communities.

First assessment visit in late 2012

The group was nominated for the Award in September 2012. A rigorous process of assessment by a regional committee followed. Next, the application is passed to a national committee for final selection and recommendation to the Queen.

The trustees are thrilled to have received this prestigious award. It’s recognition for the volunteers who have given so much of their time and work with such passion and enthusiasm. The group has stuck together through thick and thin, and achieved such a huge amount. The size of the report for the assessors was proof of that. Everyone has made so many friends and had so much fun doing it.

Recognising Outstanding Contributions

This prestigious UK National Honour recognises the outstanding voluntary contributions and achievement of those who spend their time helping others in the community to improve quality of life and opportunities. It sets the national benchmark for excellence in volunteering. The work of those awarded is judged to be of the highest standard.

40 eligible groups were nominated for consideration in the North West. 18 were successful with just two of these being based in Lancashire.

The group also received an invitation for representatives to attend a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. Plus a certificate signed by the Queen and an exclusive commemorative crystal. The award was presented to the group by Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant. The group can use the QAVS insignia for the life of its existence.

Launch of Rossall Beach Buddies Roadshow

Published November 2013

Over the winter months of early 2013, members of the Rossall Beach Group started putting together a presentation about what they do. Showing how normal people can help to look after our beach without even having to leave the comfort of their own home!

Launch of Rossall Beach Buddies Roadshow with patron Dr Robert Keirle 

There’s lots of interesting stuff in it too. Rubbish that’s been found on the beach, bottles of fat to show what comes out of your cooking. ‘Flushable’ wipes that just don’t disintegrate, ‘YUK’ stickers for your garden gate to stop dog foulers, and lots of leaflets and information. The Roadshow has its own characters too, including Gary the Gull in his red wellies. And Larry the Lugworm with his light on his head!

For groups there’s a slide presentation with lots of photos of beach finds. The accompanying display includes posters and messages from children, photos from beach cleans and explains what the Rossall Beach Group does.

This Roadshow has already been out to local shopping centres, libraries, community groups and schools. Encouraging and educating people about how to look after our beaches.

Rossall Beach Buddies Roadshow at Fleetwood Library

Windy weather and stormy seas = rubbish!

Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group was the first of these kinds of groups on the Fylde Coast. Hosting monthly beach cleans for more than ten years they’ve seen first hand what washes up on our shore.

Nowadays, sewage is treated and not pumped out to sea as it once was in the past. However, after periods of heavy rainfall, the sewage system often overloads with the excess rainwater. This means that the system can overflow into the sea or River Wyre. Either that or it would come up your toilet and the drains in the road – which is clearly unacceptable. It’s after these overflows that you’ll see sanitary waste on the beach.

The Beach Buddies Roadshow shows how treating your drains with respect lowers the incidence of these ‘combined sewer overflows’. In turn it keeps our sea and beaches cleaner.

So what can you do?

This fat came out of one chicken!

• Don’t put fats and oils down your sink/drains. Like cholesterol in your veins, it reduces the capacity of the sewage pipes and so they can hold less water.
• Don’t put wipes, nappies, sanitary products down your toilet – they can cause them to block and reduce the flow
• Don’t use your toilet as a bin – cotton buds and any other rubbish should go in a litter bin!
• Are you cross connected? Make sure that your foul sewage drains at home aren’t connected to surface water pipes. It often happens when extensions have been built.
• Pick up your dog poo. When you’re out and about always pick it up – wherever it falls! Dog faeces on a beach/promenade can significantly contribute to water pollution.

More about Rossall Beach Residents & Community Group

Formed in 2008, Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group has one objective. To make the area of Cleveleys seafront between the cafe and five bar gate at Rossall School a nicer place for everyone who uses it.

They work with local authorities to carry out improvements to the fabric of the area and the way it’s maintained. It’s created a better place for everyone, and a better experience for visitors.

In September 2012, Rossall Beach Residents & Community Group became a registered charity.

Rossall Beach Group Awards

• The Group was thrilled to win the Wyre Stars in Tourism Award in April 2012. For ‘Tourism in the Community’, it’s a mark of what we’ve achieved.

• Rossall Beach Residents & Community Group were delighted to win the award for Best Community Group at the Wyre Together Awards ceremony held in January 2013 (below).

New handrails were installed to the beach. New litter bins and benches. Better street and beach cleaning. The group campaigned for roads and pavements to be resurfaced. Instrumental in the installation of the new CCTV camera to reduce anti-social behaviour. In fact, ASB was why the group formed in the first place.

In Spring 2012 a series of five interpretation boards were installed at the edge of the sea wall. The group secured funding from the National Lottery and DONG Energy who installed the cable for the windfarm. Members researched and developed the content for the boards. They explain what’s to be seen across the sea and all about the wind farm. Plus the wildlife that you can find on the beach.

Next to the board explaining about the views over the sea, there was a coin operated telescope. It had to be removed because of vandalism.

Dog fouling on the beach is also a big, continually ongoing campaign.

While you’re here…

What do you think? Why don’t you join in and leave a comment below?

Have a look at the homepage of the Visit Cleveleys website for more of the latest updates.

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