The town in Lincolnshire has a population of around 30,000 and lost its Blue Flag beach status in 2021 due to water sewage, but many people still love living there
A seaside town once booming with tourism was dubbed one of the UK’s ‘most rundown seaside towns’.
But there is hope that the Lincolnshire settlement can be revitalised, according to one TikToker. In a recent video post called ‘Cleethorpes: one of the UK’s WORST seaside towns’, Hatty Turner, who goes by the username ‘H4 The Horror Tour’, described how Cleethorpe had received a bad rap lately after the beaches were hit by pollution warnings.
The video’s caption read: “In recent years, Cleethorpes has faced negative press due to issues related to pollution warnings on its beaches, particularly from sewages discharges in the sea. This raised environmental concerns in 2021, with local councillors criticising MPs for not doing more to prevent waste from affecting the coast.
“The pollution led to worries about water quality and the potential loss of the town’s Blue Flag beach status, a key asset for tourism in the area. Another recent news article claims the area is the ‘toughest place in the UK to be female’.”
The video then highlights a timeline of the town with a series of captions, beginning from the 1950s when ‘it was a fashionable resort for visitors seeking a summer break, with the promenade and Victorian pier at its heart.’ Between the 1980s and 1990s the clip notes that, ‘like other coastal towns, Cleethorpes is struggling with the economical decline as visitor numbers decrease.’
While events during the 2000s and 2010s include the boating lake being refurbished to ‘revitalise the town’, a human foot being found on the beach belonging to a man from South Yorkshire and Cleethorpes Carnival being cancelled after 40 years in 2017. Earlier this year, Cleethorpes beach was again denied having its Blue Flag back due to sewage discharge. The video stirred up plenty of reaction online with hundreds of users leaving their thoughts on the town, which has a population of around 30,000.
“It’s so sad to see Cleethorpes on here, I remember visiting very often with my grandparents and even after my nannan passed, my grandad would take me round the 1p machines and we’d grab doughnuts,” wrote one person. Another added: “It’s the quickest and easiest coastal resort to get to for me. It’s fine for a day trip, but its scruffy around the main area, the beach isn’t great and there isn’t much to do.”
However, plenty of users were keen to defend the town. “Nothing wrong with Cleethorpes I was brought up there,” said one, while someone new to the area wrote: “Moved here this year love it.” One person said: “Cleethorpes is a lovely place ,all seaside resorts have got those bad run down areas!!” while another asked: “Does anyone else find all UK seaside towns depressing? I can’t stay in one longer than a day or 2 before I start feeling really down. They all look miserable to me.”
Towards the end of last year, Cleethorpes was judged to be one of the six worst coastal destinations by the Telegraph, only losing out on the dubious top spot by the likes of nearby Morecambe and Skegness, and Rhyl in North Wales. However, many of those who live in there argued that the beautifully wistful air that is afforded the place by the Humber estuary nearby confuses visitors into wrongly believing the place is bleak.
