2 days ago
‘Beloved' 1930s campsite closed over safety concerns
A 'beloved' beach campsite founded in the 1930s has been ordered to close over health and safety fears.
Families who have camped at Sandway Beach in Cornwall for generations have so far defied eviction notices and are locked in a standoff with the council.
Cornwall and Plymouth city councils, which own and manage the beach, said they will not renew the campsite's licence over fears that campers could be killed by landslips, rockfalls or floods.
Officials ordered members of the Sandway Campers Association to 'vacate the land immediately due to the risks of immediate danger/death', citing a lack of sufficient escape routes should the tide rise high enough.
The Environment Agency has backed the councils in their concerns over landslips and flooding.
The Rame Peninsula campsite was founded by fishermen in the 1930s, who used bell tents on the beach.
A petition has been launched by Katy Mabin to urge the local authorities to preserve the 'irreplaceable cultural landmark', which has seen its structures passed down through five generations.
Ms Mabin said: 'The historical value of this site is not merely in its longevity but in the cultural heritage it represents.
'Sandway Point has been a sanctuary where lifelong friendships were formed, where children explored the wonders of nature for the first time, and where the gently, lapping waves provided the soundtrack to countless family gatherings and restful nights.
'Losing this beloved site would erase nearly a century of community history and tradition, a detrimental blow not just to camping enthusiasts, but to the very fabric of Kingsand's identity.'
Julia Koonde, one of the campers, told the BBC: 'We learnt to fish here and we caught rabbits in the fields and my mum made rabbit stew.
'The material things don't matter when you're here, it's just nice to get away from the rat race.'
Both Cornwall council and Plymouth city council granted a lease to the trustees of the Sandway Campsite Association for 15 years from March 2009.
The lease allowed members of the association to erect tents for holiday use only and during intermittent periods of the year on land near Sandway Beach.
But in 2015 Cornwall council authorised a report that detected risks in relation to the actual stability of the cliff next to the land.
The association's right to occupy the beach expired with their lease on 24 March 2024.
A joint statement by the councils said: 'No further lease or licence has been granted to the association or any other party.
'This means that the members of the association who have been camping on the land after March 24, 2024 have been trespassing.'
Plymouth city council sent letters and emails to members between July and October 2024 ordering them to vacate, but members have returned to the land since April 2024.
