Rival petitions started over issue of parking cars on Bettystown beach post lockdown

The community in Bettystown is going head to head in a battle as to whether cars should be permanently banned from parking on the beach.

Two rival petitions have been launched by members of the public, one calling on cars to be banned from the sand for good and the other looking for access to reopen it to the public.

Vehicle entry to the beach at the seaside town has been closed since lockdown in a bid to stop crowds gathering at the beauty spot with many locals keen on these measures to continue.

However, beach lovers are split in opinion as others want to reopen car access due to the lack of parking in the town and the impact on businesses as a result.

Both online petitions ‘Reopen Bettystown Beach to Vehicle Access’ and ‘Keep Cars off Bettystown Beach’ have sparked much controversy on social media as locals voice their views on the situation.

It is not the first time this subject has been thrashed out, after much deliberation a recommendation of a phased removal of cars from the beach was given the go-ahead in a beach management plan for Meath Co Council but not without opposition from those who questioned the future of the area with no adequate parking facilities.

The online petition calling on the reintroduction of vehicles states that:

“Large crowds have come to the area and with no on beach parking facilities, the roads have been lined with cars and private car parks full all day long causing havoc for local people trying to use local shops and amenities.”

It goes on to say: “The beach being closed to vehicle access is also a hindrance should there be an accident on the beach.

“This is a disaster waiting to happen as it will slow response times for emergency vehicles.”

Meanwhile the campaign to keep cars off the beach lists a number of positive outcomes from the current restrictions:

“It has reduced the level of litter present on the coast, as people can no longer bring car-loads full of rubbish and holiday paraphernalia directly onto the beach.

“Dumping of baby wipes, swimming trunks, and other associated items has always been a problem for the area, to the point that beach clean-ups had to be scheduled every month to prevent a build-up of litter.

“Keeping cars off the beach permanently could reduce clean-up costs for the council, and would remove the visual pollution brought by rows and rows of automobiles lining the beach.”

Local Fine Gael councillor Sharon Tolan who has been a long time advocate of a car free beach said:

“I have been inundated in the hundreds of people contacting me saying that having no cars on the beach has been amazing for the last few weeks and can we keep it this way.

“If we allow cars back on in June when the 20km restriction is lifted we are going to have 800 cars on the beach.

“Even the elderly is walking it safely and they can social distance.

“Parents are able to watch their children running in and out of the water without cars going up and down.

“The patch where cars would have parked has lovely soft white sand right as you go down on to Bettystown Beach.

“That is one of our strategic goals within the Beach Management Plan is to remove cars completely once proper parking is provided.

“I have given Meath Co Council a list of areas we could propose parking; we have schools there where huge car parks lie empty all summer.

“We have businesses there with empty car parks at the moment with 400 parking spaces and I think now is the time for the council to really put their mind to it with some strategic signage they could implement better parking for people not on the beach.”