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A yellow gate installed on Banks Road to stop vehicles accessing Heswall foreshore has created tension between the council and local boat owners, as they say it's causing disruption.
Wirral Council locked the electric gate as part of a £200,000 project to clear abandoned vessels from the protected coastline, according to Birkenhead News. Only those with fobs can now open it. More than 50 boats have been removed so far, with another four due to go by the end of August.
Simon and Gemma Robins, who are restoring a Second World War ship called Sarinda on the foreshore, say the gate has blocked their access. The couple bought the vessel, which was used in the D-Day landings, and are working to make it seaworthy again. They now have to park on the far side of the gate and carry equipment over 300 yards to reach their boat, which is what they told the Local Democracy Service.
The couple, who document the restoration on their YouTube channel Ship Happens, say they support efforts to clean up the beach but argue the gate will not achieve its main purpose. "Breaking news, boats float," Simon said, pointing out that almost all the abandoned vessels arrived by sea rather than by road. One commentator on the Ship Happens Facebook called the statement that the boat yard is accessible "a blatant lie".
Steve Aston, manager of Heswall Boat Yard, said the gate is also affecting his business. Banks Road is one of two routes to the yard, and the other – a private road called The Moorings – is too narrow to tow a vessel through. He now has to wait for the council to open the gate, adding unnecessary hassle to operations.
Heswall ward councillor Andrew Hodson defended the gate, insisting that unlicensed boats had been left on the foreshore by cars and trucks. He said boaters can still access the site via the boatyard, although the boatyard is on a private road. "We're not going to let it go back to how it was," he added.
Concerns have also been raised about accessibility on the King Charles III Coastal Path, which opened earlier this year and runs past the gate. Simon and Gemma Robins suggested the barrier may prevent people with disabilities from using the route.
A Wirral Council spokesperson said Heswall foreshore is part of a nationally and internationally protected area, including the Dee Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Specially Protected Area for wildlife, and a RAMSAR site. The council has a legal responsibility to manage activities that could damage the habitat, they reason.
The spokesperson added that the gate has been positioned to allow pedestrian access on both sides, including to the coastal path, and that the council will shortly be improving the side access by using gravel to level the surface.
