Findhorn beach car park remains closed to motorists
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THE CHAIRMAN of a local charity has explained its decision to prevent motorists accessing a popular public beauty spot.
Frank Allan of Findhorn Village Conservation Company (FVCC) confirmed the west beach car park and Dunes Road were closed at the end of March in line with lockdown guidelines from the Scottish Government, however, despite these being eased on Friday, May 29 to allow people to exercise within five miles of their homes, the barriers remain in place.
FVCC was set up in 2011 and its membership is open to anyone on the electoral roll living in Findhorn. Mr Allan explained the community-led company’s actions to address the lockdown effect on parking behind the popular beach.
He said “We reviewed the current position and – based on the First Minister’s advice that if car parks are closed, keep them closed, we decided not to reopen the car parks or the Dunes Road. We were also concerned because there were no open toilet facilities. The hot, dry weather on the weekend of May 29 caused us some problems as it did in many honey pot areas across Scotland. On the Saturday night, the wooden barrier on the Dunes Road was again removed by someone and cars had access. We are not in a position to police this road to ensure the barrier is not removed again, however, there is some remedial work planned and the road will be closed again.”
He added: “The west beach car park was still closed and over 30 cars were parked along the grass verges leading to the Findhorn boatyard. On health and safety grounds, it was decided to open the west beach car park. Unfortunately due to the large number of cars the digger could not access the park to remove the boulders until later in the day.
“Part of the west beach car park is open for cars only – no overnight parking or camping allowed. We ask that if the car park is full please visit somewhere else.”
At the start of the lockdown, large boulder barriers were placed at the entrance to the west beach car park.
Mr Allan explained that this was due to a high volume of traffic and people not adhering to the Government’s ‘Stay at Home’ message.
On the Dunes Road, FVCC initially placed large boulders past the entrance to the caravan site, but people were still parking along a large section of that road.
Mr Allan said: “In response to concerns raised by residents, we erected a barrier of old railway sleepers with a ‘Road Closed’ sign near the entrance to the Dunes Road. During the total lockdown phase we had to rebuild the barrier several times as people removed it. The road was always open to walkers and cyclists.”
Following the first weekend of eased restrictions FVCC reported an increase in dog fouling and rubbish left at the beach including barbecues, cans, bottles and firework boxes.
Mr Allan finished: "A big thank you to residents who have been very supportive, donning rubber gloves and emptying the rubbish bins so they were not overflowing and dog poo bags could be disposed of correctly.
"Please help us to look after Findhorn, park responsibly, keep social distance, take rubbish and dog poo home, and remember there are no toilets open."
