A West End community group has launched a twice-monthly festival as part of its efforts to restore a once-popular beach.

The Community Restoration Group held its inaugural event at Mangrove Bay in Sandys, which coincided with five new coconut palms being planted on the beach.

The Reverend Emily Gail Dill, the MP for Sandys North, said it was “exciting” to see the community band together and support a prized local space.

Dr Dill added: “We are not just cutting a ribbon. We are celebrating what happens when a community decides that a place matters and rolls up its sleeves to prove it.”

The event attracted about 30 visitors who were treated to music and a performance from the Somerset Brigade Band.

Sousa’s Spring Rolls and Candles Sensations were among the pop-up stands set up along Mangrove Bay Road.

Von-Rica Dickenson, a former member of Sandys Parish Council, said she started the group to build a stronger sense of community and protect the local environment.

The twice-monthly community celebration is intended to be a small-scale event comparable to Harbour Nights.

Ms Dickenson said Mangrove Bay was special to those in the area, who saw the bay as a “baby beach”.

She added: “This is a very sentimental area for me — I used to dance here at the Somerset School of Dancing.

“I attended dance school here when I was a toddler and I was raised just by Cambridge Beaches.”

Ms Dickenson thanked locals Zane Tankard for planting the trees free of charge and Patrick Fishel for cleaning the beach, as well as Kay Harvey for planting flowers to beautify the beach.

She hoped the Mangrove Bay Post Office’s reopening, which was expected to happen in May, would also help rejuvenate Somerset Village.

John “Bo” Bromby, a local resident, pledged to donate five coconut palms to be planted around the beach if the Government cleaned the area — a promise both parties made good on.

Mr Bromby, who grows and sells the palms, said his grandfather was a member of the Somerset Gardening Club and helped plant the beach’s original palms during the 1920s.

He added that, because the trees had a life span of about 100 years, it only seemed right to honour his legacy by replacing them.

Mr Bromby said: “It’s very important to keep Mangrove Bay maintained and in its natural look because it’s very appealing to tourists and locals alike.

“We get a lot of tourists from Cambridge Beaches and a lot of locals who live around here. They like to come by and see that it’s looking really nice.”

Mr Bromby recalled days when schoolchildren swam at Mangrove Bay during their holidays.

“You don’t see that any more,” he said. “It would be nice to see the children come down and enjoy the bay because it’s one of the most beautiful bays on the island.”

Mr Bromby thanked the Government for its efforts in cleaning the beach and said he hoped to see it maintained.

The West End community events will happen on the first and last Monday of the month and are expected to continue throughout the summer.

The CRG hopes to install more plants and signage and eventually move to other beaches across the island.