Thanks to the hard work of its Green Sefton team, supported by external contractors, Sefton Council has managed to partly re-open beach parking at Ainsdale.

Over 10,000 tonnes of dry sand

An inspection today, after the removal of over 10,000 tonnes of dry sand blown into drifts across the parking area and its entrance, has shown that at least one third of the parking area can be used from tomorrow (Saturday 16^th August).

The beach car park and overflow will open at 9am and will close at 7pm. With the available parking expected to fill up quickly, the advice to people planning on coming to the Sefton Coast is to use public transport wherever possible.

Plan journeys

Green Sefton Service Manager Mark Shaw said: “Merseyrail’s northern line trains serve our whole coastline. And our beaches are in easy walking distance of Ainsdale, Formby, Southport, Birkdale, Hillside, Hall Road, Blundellsands & Crosby and Waterloo stations.

“You can easily plan your journeys and find timetables at www.merseyrail.org.”

If the volume of traffic on Shore Road reaches unsafe levels, the road will be closed again. The Police have closed Shore Road today over concerns that blockages and obstructions would make it impossible for fire engines or ambulances to reach the area.

Standstill

Shaw continued: “Unfortunately, people have not listened to our advice to come by train and are instead finding themselves in traffic jams at a standstill.

“If there were to be an incident in the area or at the beach, emergency vehicles might not get through. People’s safety is our top priority, so we may be left with no choice but to put road closures back in place.”

Earlier this week, Sefton Council explained that successive heatwaves, little rain and the recent high winds of Storm Floris have created the worst possible conditions for parking at Ainsdale beach.

Work paid off

Heavy machinery and support from external contractors was drafted in to speed up the clearance work. and this has paid off with the partial re-opening tomorrow.

Shaw said: "We have been clearing the beach access and parking area since we were hit by Storm Floris, which blew the already dry sand into huge drifts. Our contractors Rylands estimate they have already dug out over 10,000 tonnes of sand.

“And tomorrow’s re-opening shows our joint efforts have paid off.”

Heavy vehicle warning

Sefton Council is urging people not to bring heavy vehicles such as horse boxes to the beach as they would take up large amounts of the limited space and cold still get into difficulties in the soft sand.

You can find out more about Sefton’s beaches here.