Dog walkers are spoilt for choice when it comes to taking their canine friends for a trot on Hayling to blow the cobwebs away.

The unspoiled beaches of the island are the perfect place for man’s best friend to get that much-needed exercise in fantastic surroundings. Dog owners will certainly enjoy the experience as well, with plenty of open space and wonderful views.

You will find waste bins along the main stretches of beach provided for the disposal of dog waste. As the beaches of Hayling are all award winning blue flag recognised, we ask that as a dog owner you take responsibility for your animal and make sure you clean up after yourself. This way the reputation of the island remains intact. See the section below for restrictions regarding dogs on the Island’s beaches.

Elsewhere on the island you are more or less free to roam with your animal as you please (do take notice of private land boundaries and respect residents’ privacy). The Hayling Billy Trail, also known as the Hayling Island Coastal Path, is a great area for your dog to run off some energy, just be wary of horse riders, cyclists and walkers.

There are various pathways that offer the chance to stroll next to the waters of Chichester and Langstone Harbour too, and these offer a respite from the busy crowds of tourists on the beaches in summer.

If you head inland then there are a couple of parks that allow for dog walking – it is, however, worth using your discretion if these locations are busy.

Dogs on Hayling beach

Hayling’s unspoiled beaches offer plenty of open space for dogs as well as views and fresh air for their owners. There are however a few restrictions in place aimed at ensuring enjoyment of the beaches for all.

Year round

Red bins are provided along the main stretches of the beach for the deposit of excrement. Please help keep our award winning beaches clean by ensuring that these bins are used and dog mess is not deposited on the beach and surrounding land. Fouling on the beaches is prohibited by bylaw and can result in fines for the owners.

Additional restrictions from May 1st to September 30th

Between May 1st and September 30th dogs must be kept on a lead on any part of the beach or promenade. Dogs are not allowed on the areas of beach shown in red below between these dates.

Further information

This information is provided as a guide. Full details and copies of the relevant by-laws can be obtained from the Beachlands visitor information office by calling 023 9246 7111

One of the biggest concerns expressed by those considering moving to Hayling Island is often the risk of flooding. During the 1970’s and 1980’s winter floods were a common occurrence on the South Eastern peninsula of the island. Today the flood risk is greatly reduced and serious flooding is rare, however as an island the risk never disappears entirely.

Why flooding happens

When Hayling Island floods it is not the same as the devastating floods that make the news in other parts of the country when rivers burst their banks. The risk of flooding on Hayling comes when high tides, low pressure and onshore winds combine to form surges that overtop our coastal defences. This type of flooding is usually easier to predict and thankfully tends to be shorter lived as water drains away again once the high tides subside a few hours later.

How frequent are flood events?

People in the higher risk properties on the Island who have signed up for the flood alert service generally receive 2 or 3 warnings per year. Thankfully though these do not usually result in flood events.

Actual flood events (where water covers entire roads) are now probably once or twice a decade occurrences, and property damage is thankfully very limited. The huge majority of property owners on Hayling Island have never experienced flood damage to their homes.

Is my home at risk from flooding?

Every house near the coast is undoubtedly at some risk of flooding. However, some properties on Hayling are certainly at greater risk. The best indication comes from the Environment Agency flood maps. If you are considering buying a property on Hayling also talk to the neighbours or ask a question here on The Hayling Site to get first-hand experience.

Even areas that are shown as ‘at risk’ on the flood maps shouldn’t expect to find themselves underwater on a regular basis. Areas expected to flood as infrequently as once every 200 years are marked as at risk and many residents of ‘risk areas’ have yet to see flooding in their lifetime.

More information about understanding the risks is provided on the Environment Agency website.

Will if affect my insurance?

You should not expect to pay a flood risk premium just because your property is on Hayling Island. Some properties will however will be a greater risk and be subject to higher premiums. This risk seems to be interpreted very differently from one insurance company to the next. If your premium is inflated due to risk of flooding then it is more important than ever to shop around for quotes.

How can I reduce the risk to my property?

Being aware of when the flood risk increases allows you to take sensible precautions. Both the Met Office and The Environment agency provide useful alert services that will inform you when warnings are in effect.

• Met Office severe weather warnings
• Environment agency flood warnings

Other flood advice and help

Hampshire County Council also provide flood advice and information on their website.

The shops on Hayling Island are a mix of independent stores and chain owned convenience stores come small supermarkets. The largest of these is Co-Op at Gable Head. Hayling’s shops are spread around the various “villages” that make up the Island:

Mengham

Pronounced “Men-jam” by most, Mengham is the largest and most centrally located of the Island’s shopping areas. Two adjoining streets provide a number of independent shops including butchers, green grocer, baker and post office together with two ‘express’ style supermarkets. Mengham also offers cafes, three pharmacies and is home to most of the Island’s estate agencies.

West Town

A row of shops and restaurants / takeaways including an ‘express’ style supermarket with a pub at either end.

Eastoke Corner

A small scattering of shops on the Seafront including a convenience store.

Other shopping areas

Various smaller rows of shops exist around Hayling.

• Gable head
• Creek road
• Stoke
• Beachlands

Bus Services on Hayling Island are run by Stagecoach UK Bus, part of the Stagecoach group. There are two services on the Island, the 30 and the 31.  Both tour the major routes of the Island and then circle back to Havant bus station.

The two services follow the same route around the Island, but almost in reverse. In simple terms the 31 Service comes on the island and follows a clockwise route from Mill Rythe roundabout onwards, whereas the 30 service follows the anti-clockwise route. The map below shows the direction each route takes past each stop.

Timetables can be downloaded from the Stagecoach website here.

Hayling Island is served by 5 Schools: Two Infant/Junior campuses and a single secondary school. Both of the infant/junior campuses also have a full-time nursery.

Infant Schools

Mengham Infant School

St Mary’s Road, Hayling Island Hampshire. PO11 9DD
Contact: (023) 9246 2470
Headteacher: Janet Randall
Pupils: Approx 160 mixed gender pupils aged 4-7
Links: School Website. Ofsted Reports

Mill Rythe Infant School

Havant Road, Hayling Island. Hampshire. PO11 0PA
Contact: (023) 9246 5531
Headteacher: Lucy Ford
Pupils: Approx 210 mixed gender pupils aged 4-7
Links: School Website. Ofsted Reports

Junior Schools

Mengham Junior School

Palmerston Road, Hayling Island Hampshire. PO11 9ET
Contact: (023) 9246 2162
Headteacher: Jean Filtness
Pupils: Approx 150 mixed gender pupils aged 7-11
Links: School Website. Ofsted Reports

Mill Rythe Junior School

Havant Road, Hayling Island. Hampshire. PO11 0PA
Contact: (023) 9246 5531
Headteacher: James Bowen
Pupils: Approx 300 mixed gender pupils aged 7-11
Links: School Website. Ofsted Reports

Secondary School

The Hayling College

Church Road, Hayling Island Hampshire. PO11 0NU
Contact: (023) 9246 6241 or max.bullough@hayling.hants.sch.uk
Headteacher: Colin Rainforth
Pupils: Approx 600 mixed gender pupils aged 11-16
Links: School Website. Ofsted Reports

Hayling Island SNT

Hayling Island Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) is a team made up of Police Officers, Special Constables, PCSOs and volunteers. Their aim is to provide a safer and improved quality of life to local residents. This team is led by Sergeant Neil Goodyear.

Hayling Island Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) is a team made up of Police Officers, Special Constables, PCSOs and volunteers. Their aim is to provide a safer and improved quality of life to local residents. This team is led by Sergeant Neil Goodyear.

Hayling Island SNTS encourage community involvement and are keen to hear what residents policing priorities are. These priorities are then discussed at the Hayling Island Community Board which is an open meeting for all. To raise your concerns you can send an email to hayling.island.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk.

Neighbourhood Watch Schemes

Hayling Island has a number of neighbourhood watch schemes active on the island.  Neighbourhood Watch is made up of small groups of volunteer residents. Members of the scheme watch out for signs of crime in their own neighbourhoods, and then share this information with each other and the SNTs.

For information on joining an existing or creating your own scheme speak to your local SNT.

Reporting Crime

In a non-emergency situation please call 101. This number will put you through to local police and is for instances such as damaged property or stolen vehicles.

If it is an emergency situation such as the crime is in progress, when there is danger to lives or is violence is being used or threatened please call 999.

Hayling Island Police

Hayling Island Police Station, on South Road, no longer has a front desk open to the public. It is however still actively used by Hampshire Police. Hayling Island Police Station does also have a yellow telephone on the wall outside which members of the public can use to speak to officers and police staff.

Hayling Island is served by NHS Portsmouth, the local NHS Trust. NHS Services on Hayling are largely delivered at Hayling Island Health Centre, located in Mengham – see inset for map and opening times.

Medical Emergencies

Ambulance cover for Hayling Island is provided by South Central Ambulance Service from ambulance stations on the mainland. The Island additionally benefits from voluntary cover by Hayling Island Community Responders, a charity organisation providing emergency medical response. The Community Responders work alongside the regular ambulance service and are sent, in addition to the regular ambulance service, in response to  some 999 calls.

(The Community Responders Cannot be called out by a patient).

In case of medical emergency dial 999

The following out of hours services are also available for situations not warranting a 999 call:

• NHS 111 . Dial 111 to speak to trained NHS staff about non-emergency issues. More on the service here.
• QA Hospital Telephone: 023 9228 6000
• St. Mary’s Hospital (Portsmouth) Walk-in Centre. Telephone: 023 9282 2444

Doctors Surgeries

The Island is served by two Doctors practices, both operating from Hayling Island Health Centre.

Waterside Practice

www.haylinghealth.co.uk Telephone (023) 9246 2719

Dr Sam T David MBBS LRCP LRCS DCH DRCOG
Dr Richard J Thomas BM MRCGP DGM DFFP DRCOG
Dr Denise Pratt MSc FFFP MRCOG MRCGP
Dr Rebecca Gabel MBBS, DRCOG, MB BChir, BA (Hons)
Dr Jason Greenslade MBBS, BSc, MRCS, MRCGP

The Elms Practice

www.theelmspractice.co.uk  Telephone (023) 9246 6216

Dr Colin Turner MBChB DRCOG MRCGP FPCert
Dr James Mitchell BM DCH MRCGP
Dr Martin Goodhart BA MBChB MRCGP
Dr Emily Hunt BM MRCGP DFFP

Doctors out of Surgery hours

This service is only for urgent problems that cannot wait until your GP surgery opens.  Call your GP number in the usual way.  You will then be directed to the Out of Hours service and assessed whether you need to:

• Treat yourself at home
• Go to a primary care centre
• Have a home visit from a healthcare professional
• What number do I call ‘Out of Hours’?

Dentists

At last check none of the dental practices on Hayling Island were accept NHS patients. Details of these practices can be found in the Dentists category of our business directory.

Several practices close to the island are open to NHS registrations. Details can be found on the NHS Portsmouth site. However please note: This site calculates distance as crow flies and the results it returns are not always the most convenient. Try centring searches on Havant for more accurate results

Pharmacies / Chemists

Hayling Island has a total of 5 chemists located in Mengham and West Town. As well as dispensing prescriptions they also offer a range of other services such as diabetes testing and asthma clinics.

More information about what services are offered as well as contact information and opening times can be found in the directory.

For emergency prescriptions out of hours the nearest pharmacies are located in Havant at either Boots on Solent Road, (open until midnight) or at the Tesco Superstore Havant & Sainsbury’s Farlington.