Anger over 'squatters' near a beach in Sheerness

Transcript

00:00 Shingle Beach on the Isle of Sheppey is a scenic route and popular holiday spot for

00:05 campers but recently reports of anti-social behaviour have been raised with some arguing

00:11 those parking their vans here should have to pay a fee. Another resident has lived on

00:16 the island for 35 years and says visitors are actually boosting the local economy and

00:22 aren't doing any harm.

00:24 People seem to think that we're getting away with something, you know, we're not paying

00:27 this, we're not paying that, therefore we're living free and they don't like it. Why are

00:31 we paying for our rent or our rates or whatever? Well, I've got a house, I pay rates, I live

00:36 on the island, I've been on the island 35 years. There's a few people along here in

00:41 the same situation. The majority of people that come up here are visiting.

00:46 A bid to bring in charges so that people can stay overnight was put forward by Swale councillors

00:51 in March in a budget meeting which has been met by mixed reviews. But a council spokesperson

00:57 said the introduction of parking fees to dissuade overnight use is being investigated. The council

01:03 said it wants locals and visitors to be able to use the location but those parking for

01:08 long periods of time can make this difficult. It says it's working with the local community

01:14 to find a way to allow people to best utilise the space.