Kitesurfers have been left “devastated” after being banned from a coastal Kent beauty spot they had used for more than 20 years after “disturbing birds”
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00:00Thrilling, adrenaline pumped and sometimes a dangerous sport, Peguia Bay is said to be
00:10the perfect location for it.
00:13Kite surfing is a relatively new sport, they've been out here for the best part of the last
00:1830 years, but suddenly this year the council told them, you can't do it anymore.
00:24If they're caught kite surfing now, they could be fined under a council PSPO.
00:29A voluntary agreement was previously in place between Natural England and Kent Wildlife
00:33Trust allowing kite surfing at Peguia Bay, and in this bay teaching took place, but a
00:38council hasn't renewed this kite surfing school's licence.
00:43The decision slashing their revenue by 70%, but the authority said the decision was to
00:49protect wildlife.
00:51Leaving at least 98% of the mud flats to the local wildlife, you know it's devastating
00:57me personally, the students and the kite surfing community, I don't think there would
01:02be a better place to teach kite surfing if you scoured the entire UK, you know, you've
01:07got this beautiful shallow shelving beach that runs off for about half a mile which
01:12just makes it ideal for teaching and it's the safest environment that anybody could
01:16hope for.
01:17So, you know, for Thanet and for East Kent, it's a massive blow.
01:22The schools don't operate in winter due to the number of migrating birds, Peguia Bay
01:27is a nature reserve and a site of special scientific interest, and the Kent Wildlife
01:32Trust say it is home to rare and endangered coastal and wetland birds which are in decline.
01:39These species are impacted by disturbances from recreational activities like jet skiing,
01:44paddle boarding and kite surfing.
01:47But the community says due to the prominent wind direction, this bay is one of the best
01:51places to go in the south east.
01:54We realise that, of course, birds do need protection, but the disturbance of just moving
02:00out of the way as we walk towards the water causes no detrimental effect and this is something
02:06therefore if they had some legal consent that they required from us, they could have worked
02:12with us for that to be put in place without going through a draconian exercise of withdrawing
02:17it behind our back and banning us.
02:19Thanet District Council told us they have the duty to enforce the SSSI rules and does
02:24so through the Beach and Coast Public Spaces Protection Order.
02:27The PSBO covers the entire Thanet coastline and prohibits any activity that disturbs wildlife.
02:36Kite surfers, animal conservationists and the council are set to meet in a couple of
02:41weeks time to talk the issue out, but for the surfing community, they say this year
02:46has been a wipeout.
02:48I'm Gabriel Morris, in Cliff's End.