AMANDA JOBSON
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THE GREEN COUNCILLOR
Words - Louis Ryan Photos - Zoe Salt
It all started in August 2021, when there was a terrible sewage outflow on the beaches in St. Leonard's. It affected all the people who own the sheds, and then it affected the sea. So when I became a candidate as a Green councillor, I put on my literature that we'll end sewage pollution.
Coming here 15 years ago was really about changing my way of life. Less consumerism. Consolidating. I was driven out of London because of the rents and the lease holds going up and the mortgage.
The sea is why most of us came here. It’s a beautiful, natural environment, and it's a beautiful place to be and live.
In winter time, the Environment Agency don't test the seawater and Southern Water don't monitor all of their sewer outflows properly. So I said, “We need to fundraise for some seawater testing. I’ll do that and get my son to film it and do a voiceover. Then we’ve got evidence.” It’s all about evidence.
It did escalate to the point where we got a lot of coverage, but that campaign is still ongoing. The Environmental Agency and DEFRA need more people on board to push for those changes to the water companies, not just fine and imprison them, but to make them have a restructure. And there must be some sustainable solutions as well – like building storm tanks and infrastructure to stop events like that sewage outflow from happening again.
We’re doing more too. I’m working with Clean Water Action Hastings and St. Leonard’s to do an Earth Day event. With Surfers Against Sewage, we’re educating people not to put wet wipes in the toilet and keep it as natural as possible.
When I see families on the beach, I give them flyers. Those are the people you really want to connect with because they do care. It’s here that they’re living. That’s why they came here – to protect the environment.
We’ve made banners, and kids came along and made their own. The kids are really amazing. They’re really on it, they’re more on it than their parents. These young, sort of five/six-year-olds – they really know so much about our environment. They’re the ones that we’re really trying to tap into and get involved with beach cleans.
Now we’re organising a big beach clean, a celebration of the sea where we’ll be raising awareness of our climate crisis. We’re making it more of a celebration rather than worrying people even more about our climate emergency. I think it’s hard enough how they’re living today.
