Opposition councillors are repeating their call for Sefton Council to lay out a proper policy for Southport Leisure Beach.
According to opposition leader on Sefton, Cllr. John Pugh ( Liberal Democrat) doing nothing about it is not a credible option especially when neighbouring councils like Wirral have taken steps to reclaim their beaches. Currently Southport Leisure Beach is being allowed to turn into a grass infested muddy expanse.
“ Calls at Council meetings to get the Council to spell out some sort of policy or plan of action have fallen on deaf ears. I could accuse the current Council leadership of sticking their hands in the sand, but unfortunately there is not enough left.
It is not reasonable to propose mechanical clearance to clear an area in front of Pleasureland south of the Pier which would link up with the really decent sandy area beyond the end of the Pier. The sandy beach has migrated over time, but it is well worth making the effort to keep the traditional leisure beach area free from mud.
It will have cost implications. Wirral are estimating that West Kirkby beach may require a maintenance budget of around 30K, but if it attracts people to the area that could be a sound investment. Sefton are spending £72M on a conference centre to boost tourism why spoil it by making our beach a blot on the landscape ?
Considerable progress has been made in recent years by the Chinese in controlling and eliminating beech grasses without obvious environmental detriment and modern science here may yet come to our help, but in the meanwhile there seems no obvious reason why Sefton cannot follow the Wirral strategy”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0gSSAIIFuU
Sefton Council coastal officer John Dempsey has previously stated: “[There are] powerful natural and geomorphological processes that shape this coastline – from accretion between Ainsdale and Southport, to erosion at Formby.
For example, accretion at Ainsdale is part of the natural process of dune formation that has taken place on this coastline for centuries – new dunes can form remarkably quickly.
After all, it wasn’t so long ago that Lord Street in Southport was a dune slack, and high tides were reaching the west end of Nevill Street as recently as the 1900s.
Embryo dunes are not only a vital habitat for many of the rare species that call the Sefton Coast home but may also form a crucial flood defence for the borough in the future.
If undisturbed by severe storm episodes, they can quickly grow, expanding the dune eco-system.
Although a different habitat, the spread of saltmarsh at Southport is influenced by the same processes, while sea level rise, sand extraction in the past, cessation of dredging on the Ribble, run-off from agricultural land and a changing climate may all be contributing factors too.
Saltmarsh is an impressive tool in the struggle that future generations will face against rising sea levels, typically absorbing about 30 per cent of wave energy, and traps carbon in the same way as woodlands.
Healthy, dynamic coastlines change – and have done for thousands of years, the challenge is how we work with them from generation to generation.”
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