Angry locals launch petition to remove boulders that stop parking next to beach

Angry locals have launched a petition to remove boulders that prevent people from parking next to a popular beach for free.

The move to place rocks and boulders by Llanddona beach, on Anglesey’s east coast, by persons unknown, has been slammed as “damaging” to the ecosystem, as well as “dangerous”.

It is believed it was done to stop campervans and motorhomes from parking there for free.

The Llanddona Beach group, which started the petition, says it is “disgusting” that “some of the people who have purchased properties near our local beach have decided to act upon themselves” to block off the green parking.

They have been accused of trying to “privatise” the beach “disrupt the ways of generations of locals” who want to enjoy it.

The petition, which has received over 1,200 signatures, calls on Anglesey County Council to act.

Exact ownership of the land has not been clearly established, and the council has said it is not its responsibility, however meetings involving councillors and local landowners have been held to try and solve the dispute.

The petition says: “During the last couple months, some of the people who have purchased properties near our local beach have decided to act upon themselves to block off the green parking by the use of large, damaging and quite frankly dangerous boulders.

“Given Llanddona Beach is an AONB and has been a recipient of the Blue Flag Beach Award, it is disgusting to find that people who have not long moved down to the beach destroy the ecosystem and disrupt the ways of generations of locals from enjoying their beach like their ancestors have.

“These people have come down there to try to claim ownership of this land and stop others from enjoying it. They want to privatise the beach through the use of large boulders to stop anyone from parking on the foreshore like they have done for years and years.

“Also these boulders are blocking emergency services, such as the coastguard, ambulance from gaining access directly to the beach. These boulders have been put there in an attempt to privatise the beach where they have no jurisdiction on this land.”

‘Hostile’ 

It adds: “Those responsible for these boulders have also been known to act in a hostile manner to those aiming to enjoy the beach as they have done for years claiming they cannot park there as it is ‘private land’.

“Never in my life have I seen this community come together in such a manner, opposing the situation down there.

“This petition is here to show that as a local village community, we will not allow this to happen and we will come together, and force the Anglesey County Council to make a stance on this, to stop it happening now, and to protect it for future generations to enjoy this AONB.

“The county council have not been seen to be doing enough to protect this beach by cutting costs on maintaining the surrounding areas,  it is just not good enough.

“The time is now to make a stance. Get the council to stop cutting costs on these areas of outstanding natural beauty. Get the council to pay someone full time to become a dog warden / cleaner for this beach 7 days a week.

“Get the council to put new bins along the foreshore, giving those who wish to comedown to the beach plenty of options to keep it clean. Get the council to properly improve the available toilets so they can be used.

“This way it won’t be seen as just any old beach, where it gets forgotten about. This beach deserves to be looked after, by providing the relevant services to allow people to come and enjoy this beach for what it should be, a safe place for families to come to with their children knowing that it is clean and safe for them to enjoy.

“These boulders need to be moved by those who are responsible to placing them there in the first place in order to protect this wonderful beach.”

‘Holiday cottage’ 

David Percival, the owner of a holiday cottage business overlooking the beach, said he was not aware of who placed the rocks, he claimed that over 30 campervans have been known to park on the beach front at any time, describing it as “a substantial drain on local resources.”

He told the Local Democracy Service: “Overnight parking and the accommodation of caravans, campers or caravans, requires planning permission, I believe.

“If people wish to camp on this lovely island then there are plenty of caravan parks who will be glad of the business and accommodate them in properly managed and designed facilities with social distancing rules in place.”

Community councillor, Myrddin Roberts, said: “The campervans are certainly a problem, no one’s disputing that, but blocking access is not the way to go about it.

“Some of these people have only just moved here yet now decide to block off access to a beautiful beach that’s been enjoyed by generations of local people, its wrong.

“Many people who are disabled or elderly enjoy being driven down to the beach, but they can’t do that now as the public car park doesn’t have the same access, it feels like something’s been lost.”

An Anglesey Council spokesperson said, “We are aware of the ongoing concerns about parking, in particular large numbers of motorhomes and camper vans.

“The land on which this parking occurs is not within the ownership of the council, and therefore the council cannot take any enforcement action or implement any measures to prohibit or control or encourage use. The nearby car park has remained open and is available for use.

“We are currently engaging with local landowners and the community council to try identify appropriate solutions to address the issues and concerns that exist locally.”