The National Coastwatch Institution has decided to relocate their current lookout post from Tankerton Beach to Long Beach as of April 2025. This decision has been made despite dismay from some Watchkeepers (those who know the area and waters better than most) and without bringing the issue to the awareness of the public whose safety on the beach is reliant on the watch.

The new location at Long Beach will render the Watchkeepers blind to the activities in Tankerton Bay, unless the proposed camera system truly covers this area and in any case is that better than professional watch keeping for those in or on the water, the beach or the slopes. The present lookout provides that and a useful service to the public in terms of advice and guidance, a service willingly made possible by some fifty-plus volunteers.

This petition aims to persuade the NCI and Canterbury City Council to  allow the Tankerton station to remain open and run in tandem with the new one for a trial period of a year or nine months. 

If the relocation goes ahead, it is expected that Canterbury City Council will repossess the site, most likely for the building of another beach hut for profit. We hope the Council will reconsider this and recognise that the Watchstation provides a useful, potentially life saving public service

Please add your appeal by signing!