Overview
- Council members voted 32 to 25 to reject a Green Party motion that proposed low-cost measures to retain public sand and protect pier access.
- Sefton Council says the sandy shore has moved seaward through long-term natural accretion and that the newly formed salt marsh stores carbon, supports birds and acts as a self-sustaining sea defence.
- Locals and tourists have complained that vegetation and silt now obscure traditional sandy areas and called for parts of the beach to be kept for recreation.
- The Green proposal included sand fences, wooden posts and partly buried boulders and asked the council to work with Natural England to secure public beach space.
- The council pointed to past costly, unsuccessful clearance attempts and to current investments including a £20 million Southport Pier restoration and a Marine Lake Events Centre aimed at bringing more visitors.