Corton beach, a few miles north of Lowestoft in Suffolk, has been a Naturist destination for decades, writes Eastern Region Organiser, Nigel Newman, but something happened recently that almost reads like a script from a TV sit-com. In this episode, the Parish Council take it upon themselves to stop Naturism at their local beach. They came up with the idea of a no-nonsense notice (see below) which asserts their authority, ending with the words “By Order of Corton Parish Council”. The notice doesn’t say “Naturists Not Welcome – Dogs on Leads”. Instead it says something rather ambiguous and easily open to misinterpretation.
It starts, “Corton Beach is not a Naturist beach”. Yes it is. The law – clarified a few years ago by British Naturism – says that no beach needs to be designated Naturist – we can use them all. But the sign gives the impression for those who are not absolutely clear that Naturism is lawful that it is not allowed here. The sign then refers to “Lewd behaviour”. It doesn’t say Naturism is lewd, but by having it in the very next sentence could suggest to many people there is a connection. Lewd behaviour and Naturism are two very different things. The sign finishes with “Causing an offence to others is a criminal offence and all cases will be reported to the police”. That is not accurate either. If it were the jails would be full of people charged with causing an offence by their clothing, the colour of their hair or their mere existence. The law is quite clear on what is needed to cause a criminal offence.
This matter was reported to BN who wrote to the Parish Council seeking a dialogue. This was firmly declined: “we will make progress when you use a different beach, and allow our parishioners to use ours without fear of what they may be confronted with”, but we were more surprised and concerned when they said, “we ask our villagers to video any persons they may see carrying out acts of indecency”. I’m not sure this is wise counsel from the council.
The topic was put on the BN Forum and we got an avalanche of replies – some were generic in expressing their displeasure with the sign and others offered expert advice on how to remove it, which we promptly followed up with the appropriate authority, the District Council – who, incidentally, are far more approachable and understanding of the legal situation.
The Parish Council sought the views of the community via their Facebook Page. Strangely, when a pro-Naturist opinion was posted it soon got removed – we have a selection of screen shots.
At the February meeting of the Parish Council two eloquent Naturists turned up to make our case. The local Police were there too and the Sergeant was armed with the College of Policing Guidelines (which BN helped write). It was made very clear the Parish were on thin ice with their sign especially in relation to discrimination.
How does this sit-com end? At the time of writing we are anticipating that the sign will be removed by the District Council; the Parish Council are reconsidering their position. But the twist is that rather than making Corton a No-Go area for Naturists (and it is one of the few Naturist beaches with relatively easy disabled access) it wouldn’t be surprising if all this extra publicity results in considerably more Naturists visiting the beach this year than ever before.
Main image by Katja Grasinger on Unsplash
