Nick Bye: Meadfoot beach parking plans trigger robust conversations

Parking... don't get me started! To prove this is something of a hot topic, nearly as many residents crowded into St Matthias Church Hall last Monday to discuss possible new parking arrangements by Meadfootbeach as turned up at the Princess Theatre a couple of weeks ago to talk about the entire future of local government in Devon and the likely end of Torbay Council. It shows what people really get excited about.

There were more than a hundred residents there and well done to our Wellswood community partnership officers for taking the lead (as well as taking quite a lot of flak) doing their best to explain the proposals in a reasonably neutral fashion.

The purpose of any changes is to ensure the various lay-bys along Meadfoot Sea Road opposite the beach are not blocked for weeks and months at a time by folk who are living there in old vans and motorcaravans. Yours truly undertakes a weekly litter walk for most of the year and could see for himself there were generally 12/15 vans in situ early each morning last season, extending into the autumn months. During the height of the summer it was by far and away the cause of most comment, calls and emails from unhappy residents.

“Something should be done” seemed the near unanimous theme, coupled with remarks about people paying nothing to enjoy such a prime position, the visual appearance of all this, concerns for what might happen to their waste, including human waste, never mind the difficulty of anyone else trying to find a space to park for an hour or so.

On one occasion I saw a lot of wood had been gathered by a couple of vans and an attempt made to start a fire just yards from vegetation which I feared might burn easily. Fortunately my report was responded to before things got out of hand.

There has been endless discussion in the Town Hall trying to find a solution but the stumbling block is these lay-bys are not accepted as highways so a simple traffic regulation order (TRO) can't be put in place and wouldn't be enforceable. 

In fairness “no overnight parking” signs have been put up but these in reality are for guidance. After numerous requests, a Section 77 order was issued, at some expense to Torbay Council, but after a couple of weeks the vans returned. A couple never went away.

The proposal is to create a number of parking bays along the side of the road, actually on the highway, whilst blocking off the existing lay-bys, so a TRO would be enforceable. There would be charges to park and this revenue stream would cover the cost of implementing these new arrangements as well as enforcement.

To be a devil's advocate for a moment, it is thought parking here would act as a traffic calming measure and any metered parking generally leads to a greater turnover of spaces, giving more people a chance to enjoy an idyllic location for a short while (at a price).

It was generally hard to read the mood of the community partnership meeting, with numerous loud voices “against” but plenty of people sat near me indicating their support.

One attendee made the fair point that it seemed like a sledgehammer to crack a nut but it seems on this occasion we might need one.

I have asked the Town Hall officer who is most expert to prepare a simple paper on whether a public spaces protection order prohibiting overnight sleeping in vehicles (and fires and other forms of anti-social behaviour) might do the trick but such things always come down to enforcement.

We have just reintroduced slightly refined PSPOs for Hope's Nose and Berry Head as well as having them in place for Torquay town centre (having previously lapsed) but they depend upon proper enforcement, which comes at a cost.

Another suggestion is that the council should turn one of our car parks into a dedicated site for motorcaravans with appropriate facilities such as showers and toilets, but with the best will in the world this crowd aren't going to go rushing off to a regulated site (where presumably they would have to pay). In any case, it doesn't feel like core business for a council. 

In simple terms, councils should provide the basics for residents and visitors, leaving the private sector to run holiday parks.

A better gauge of public opinion should come through the consultation process, which runs until mid April. I would encourage as many residents as possible to participate.

The council is unlikely to rush into doing something which is hugely unpopular but other than a modest refinement, perhaps only charging for parking in the summer months, it appears to be a choice between these proposals and the status quo.

Best wishes,

Nick Bye