A Burnham-On-Sea couple has spent £8,000 on clearing 100 tonnes of sand away from a public footpath in the town to increase safety and security.
The owners of Burnham’s Retreat Holiday Park say the sand had piled up over three metres deep along the public footpath runining from Brightstowe Road onto the beach, meaning a security fence was useless and walkers could look directly into homes, causing privacy and security concerns.
As we first reported here two years ago, Debbie March and her husband, pictured above, have been involved in long-running talks with Somerset County Council and Sedgemoor District Council to clear the path, but they say their calls had “fallen on deaf ears.”
So they have taken the matter into their own hands and this month the path has been cleared in time for the summer season.
Debbie told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We have gone backwards and forwards for over two years with Sedgemoor, the County Council and Western Power Distribution.”
“With the sand building up higher than our park’s fence, we needed to protect our boundary and also help the path’s users.”
“We provided all the paperwork and detailed risk assessments to the two councils, along with permissions from neighbouring properties, and have gone ahead with the work.”
“We employed some contractors to take 100 tonnes of sand away from a 30-metre stretch of the path, putting it back on the beach, and we have received lots of very positive feedback from walkers and residents.”
“Some people have even told us they can now use the path for the first time in over three years because the steepness of the path’s incline has been reduced. The safety and security aspects have been addressed as well.”
“It’s costing us £3,000 to clear the path and £5,000 for a new concrete fence, but it’s a small price to pay to boost security and give the public a path they can now use more easily over the summer holiday period.”
