More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Home Whitstable News Article
Residents have urged "selfish and irresponsible" people to stop breaching government guidelines by travelling dozens of miles to a seaside town.
There have been reports of visitors flocking to Whitstable from Medway - which has the highest Covid-19 infection rate in the county - and London.
Government guidance states: "If you need to travel you should stay local - meaning avoiding travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live - and look to reduce the number of journeys you make overall."
But some have been breaching the rules by coming to Whitstable.
Cllr Ashley Clark (Con) has been contacted by multiple residents over the past few weeks who have complained of people who live miles away travelling to the town.
He has told how those breaching the guidance are putting residents in a state of "total frustration".
"People have remarked they have looked at the parking permits of vehicles in town and a lot are from Greenwich, Medway and Tower Hamlets," said Cllr Clark.
"Clearly, people are not complying or travelling locally. The government guidelines make it totally unenforceable because unless there is a distance ban where you can only travel five or 10 miles, people ignore it."
He has branded the visitors "selfish and irresponsible" and has urged them to stay away from Whitstable.
This is not the first time Cllr Clark has urged day-trippers to stay away.
When Whitstable was promoted to Londoners in May as a destination for a lockdown getaway, he told them not to travel to the town.
Residents also were furious at the start of lockdown about visitors flocking there in defiance of social distancing advice.
Cllr Clark added: "Freedom is not free and unfortunately the price is being paid by those in the hospitals and the mortuaries.
"I passed some of the information onto the police because they are the enforcing body, but unfortunately they have got a lot on their hands with the ports."
