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Hoylake beach has been registered as a town or village green, more than three years after residents applied for the status.
Wirral Council's Planning Committee voted unanimously to approve the application at a meeting on Thursday, 1 October, the draft minutes now published on the council's website confirm.
The registration gives people a lasting legal right to use the land for sports and pastimes.
The application was submitted on 18 May 2023 by Jaqueline Hall MBE, with Hoylake Help, and was backed by evidence forms from 84 residents.
When the council consulted on it, 1,343 responses were received. Of the 914 from Hoylake and Meols residents, 88.1% supported the application.
An independent inspector, Annabel Graham Paul, was appointed because the council owns the beach as well as deciding the application.
She found that a significant number of people from Hoylake and Meols had used the beach "as of right" for lawful sports and pastimes from May 2003 to May 2023, including:
- Team and individual sports
- Dog walking and horse riding
- Sand yachting and kite flying
- Community and family recreation
She also found use carried on after changes to how vegetation on the beach was managed in 2019, and increased during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Councillors were told the beach's existing environmental protections would not change. Any future works would still need Natural England's agreement.
They also heard the council, as landowner, can give the RNLI permission to drive its vehicles on the green.
Ward councillors Andrew Gardner and Max Booth both spoke in support, with Cllr Booth saying the application had been community-led and funded by residents.
The land will be registered as shown on the plan submitted with the application.
In December, Natural England approved a management plan for the beach. We first reported on the village green bid when consultation began in 2023.
