Victoria Park beach plans scrapped

Cost of maintaining the beach would be too high, says Tower Hamlets Council

Plans for an urban beach in Victoria Park have been scrapped by Tower Hamlets Council because it would cost too much to keep clean.

The beach, complete with golden sand and deck chairs, was set to be built on the east side of the East lake as part of a �12 million regeneration of the park.

Residents made suggestions for the revamp, which includes a skate park, bowling green and football, rugby and cricket pitches.

But some feared dog mess would cause problems in the sand.

And as the plans developed, town hall bosses deemed the urban beach too difficult and expensive to keep in good order.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “Unfortunately there is not going to be an urban beach in the park. When we went to finalise the details and ideas for the project, we realised the huge risk and cost of maintaining a beach that would be open to the elements.”

Tower Hamlets blogger and park campaigner Ted Jeory said: “While Tower Hamlets council would have us believe everything is all sunny, beaches belong by the seaside and not in the East End and especially not in London’s most precious park.

“Dogs are banned from beaches on the coast, but that wouldn’t be possible here. It would clog up with dirt like a bunker on some low grade golf course.

“The council has done a good job with some of the proposed improvements, but the urban beach idea was ill thought out.”