Concern over access to town beach

Ifor Hughes on the footpath at the "no access to the beach" sign

Residents of a Gwynedd town say they are concerned an expansion of a marina could make access to a beach more difficult.

They claim the situation is already bad at Abererch sands next to the Hafan in Pwllheli, with lack of signage and a locked gate greeting visitors.

David Evans, 73, said they often returned to his nearby holiday lets saying the beach was "all locked up".

A council spokesman said its maritime unit would look into the matter.

Part of the beach, backed by sand dunes, is an important flood defence for the town of Pwllheli, and has recently been strengthened with a £12m flood defence scheme.

This is the gateway to the Pwllheli section of the Llyn coastal path too, and it should be improved Resident David Evans

Gwynedd Council want to see a 'sailing academy' development in the area and in February, a private business consortium also unveiled its plans to develop the marina.

But residents fear any expansion will have a detrimental effect on access to the beach.

Mr Evans, who is a sailor, said he was in full support of the marina, but he wanted "better neighbourliness".

"I have two self-catering units, which I let successfully for much of the year, and people ask me how to find the beach.

"They often come back though and say 'everything is locked up' and don't understand that they can still use the beach.

"This is the gateway to the Pwllheli section of the Llyn coastal path too, and it should be improved," he added.

Businessman Ifor Hughes said: "There is no sign from the town saying there is a beach here, and when you get here you are met with a padlocked gate.

"Up the road there is a footpath, which although still open, has the sign 'no access to the beach" on it'," he added.

Stuart Darlington said people found the beach through "word-of-mouth"

Dog-walker Carys Martin, from Pwllheli, said she understood the need for the locked gate, but there was a feeling the beach was not being looked after.

"It's rubbish strewn, whereas if you went to Abersoch the beach there is regularly cleaned.

"There is also no toilet here and there is a need for a little shop selling lollies etc," she added.

A Gwynedd Council spokesman said there had been a "significant increase" in the number of people using the beach over recent years.

The gate was installed to "protect the safety of the people visiting the beach".

Gwynedd's maritime unit, which is responsible for the entrance and the beach, had not had any correspondence from the public over signage and access, and the council said it would be happy to look at the situation again.