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| Public Right of Way is down the access road and across the Coliseum site to so-called Point 14 marked on official maps. |
This was opened on 1st February 2010, six years after the route was blocked by Ampersand (now called CEG) with fences and barriers.
It had been used as the main route to the beach by locals and visitors during decades of public use - going across the car park in front of the Coliseum building and under an arch on to the beach.
It was finally granted official recognition as a Public Right of Way by Cornwall County Council in April 2008 following years of hard work and determination by local footpath campaigners, Gloria Price and Frances Taylor. (More on this long battle).
A third footpath across the Carlyon Bay golf course linking Sea Road to the South West Coast Path was also officially recognised.
But a question mark remains over future access to the beach because if a wall and promenade are built (and so far there are no plans to be viewed) the Right of Way will end at the wall (marked on offiical footpath maps as Point 14) and once again access to the foreshore will be at the whim of the developer. For locals remember that in 2004 a line of rock armour and shuttering was built without a shred of planning permission which blocked access to the beach except by a permissive path from steps down the cliff face from the top car park.
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| Unauthorised metal shuttering prevented beach access apart from a path provided by developer (see bottom of picture). |
That shuttering was finally removed in 2011 after CEG obeyed an Enforcement Order - but only after years of delay. Mrs Price and Mrs Taylor then tried to get the existing Public Right of Way extended so that access to the beach is guaranteed.
Finally after a comprehensive examination of the issues the Council's Countryside Access team recommended approving the extension - and on 28th January 2013 the panel voted for it unanimously.
CEG as the landowner has now (May 2013) exercised its right to appeal, even though the Council officers examined every possible avenue in order to prevent this, so it might end up being decided at Planning Inspectorate level.
BEACHES USED BY GENERATIONS OF FAMILIES
The beaches at Carlyon Bay have been enjoyed by the public for generations This letter was sent to Carlyon Bay Watch by Ron Hicks from Fowey, who was born in 1923.
"I can truly say I did on many occasions when I was about 9 years old and after, ride on old Raleigh roadster bicycle from Fowey to the beach at Crinnis - now known to some as Carlyon Bay beach and other individual names. Crinnis beach used to be considered to be the whole beach. Access to the beach was down a track, now the road, which stretched the whole length of the beach fairly close below the cliffs. The further along you went the more overgrown the track became. The wild plants, bushes and small trees contained a remarkable quantity of wildlife, small birds, rabbits, butterflies and numerous insects. The cliffs still contain a number of rare birds and other wildlife. This track was used by farmers to collect sand and seaweed from the beaches and in the mining period for the miners to reach their workings."
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| Shorthorn, looking towards Polgaver, before paths and trees were bulldozed in 2004. A popular walking area. |
Sadly that and other tracks, along with the bushes and trees, have been destroyed by the developer.
CEG claims the paths were not public footpaths and now, because they have been bulldozed, it is impossible to demonstrate exactly the lines they took across the beaches - although they can be seen in old photographs.
The green areas at the back of the beaches were popular places for walkers and could be used when the foreshore was too inhospitable because of high winds and tides. They were also popular picnic spots where you didn't get sand in the sandwiches and were a haven for wildlife.
CEG claims that, as part of its massive development plans for hundreds of apartments and houses on the site, access will continue. But the paths used by generations of people have already disappeared under rubble and are fenced off and will eventually be buried under buildings. Any alternative paths across the beaches which may be incorporated in the design will only be accessible to the public by permission of the owners.
We believe that relying on this or any future owner to stick to those assurances would mean public access being by permission only and over time could be lost. This is the reason it's been so important to get access routes to the beach recognised as Public Rights of Way and enshrined in law.
