High praise for return of Newark on Sea urban beach to Newark Market Place for 2024, running until August 19 organised by Newark Town Council
The return of Newark’s town centre beach has been praised as families soak up the sunshine and play in the sand.
Now in it’s third year, the Newark on Sea urban beach in Market Place has proved a popular attraction.
Complete with seaside-themed entertainment, including classic Punch and Judy shows, sand castle competitions, crafts, sports and live music, the beach is free to visit and open every day from 10am to 4pm until August 19.
The event has also been used as a way to highlight important environmental issues such as water pollution, with the return of The Plastic Ocean Show and its 18-metre-long inflatable whale, and an eco and sustainability market.
Over the weekend, Catherine Eyre, of Newark, was visiting with her granddaughter, Astrid.
She said: “It’s a beautiful sunny day, it’s been really good to see people using it and the children are having fun. We live so far from the sea, so it’s great that they can bring the beach a little closer to home.
“We need more stuff like this because anything that brings more people into the town centre can only be a good thing.”
One family travelled from Carlton for the day after being less than impressed by Nottingham’s city centre beach.
They praised Newark for how well organised and clean everything was, without being overcrowded.
Newark mum Hayley Bennett took her little ones Joey and Kit along for an afternoon of fun at the beach.
She said: “It’s lovely that Newark has this for the children. The summer holidays can been a really expensive time for families and lots of people are struggling financially free events like this make the world of difference.
“The best part is everything is provided, so I’d highly recommend it to anyone with young children.”
The beach is organised Newark Town Council, who earlier this year agreed to take on the running costs for the first time, buying all of the equipment needed to hold the event.
Town clerk, Matthew Gleadell, said: “I’ve got a great vantage point from my office in the Town Hall overlooking the beach and it’s great to see it being used by so many families.
“Events like this bring an energy and joy to the Market Place.
“At a time when money is short, having something like this, that is free to access, is really helpful to parents that are finding it difficult.”
“Now that we have bought all of the equipment, it’s actually come out cheaper than the cost of hiring everything.
“The added benefit is that next year it will cost us practically nothing to run and we have more flexibility about how long we can hold the events for.”
