Residents fed up with abuse of beach

“THIS place is an eyesore,” said a Glenashley resident as he and several other members of the community met with councillor, Shaun Ryley, on The Promenade Road last week.

The anonymous resident and his neighbours called for the access of The Promenade Road to be revoked.

The residents said they felt that the Glenashley Beach was being abused by both fishermen and beach-goers. Daily fires on the beach, rowdy parties, broken glass and general littering were just some of the issues raised at the informal meeting.

“There is just a total and blatant disregard for the by-laws. Many of the rubbish bins are broken as they use them to make fires. To start the fires they steal the bollards or cut the vegetation. Every day there are beer bottles and take-away packaging strewn across the beach, not to mention the fish bait and fishing lines that pollute the area,” said the resident.

An abandoned burnt-out car was also found on the residential road during the meeting. It had allegedly been standing there for three days.

What’s more, said the residents, was there were no signage at the beach to inform users of the by-laws as the sign posts were either destroyed or fell off due to erosion by the elements.

“Five or six years ago a new sign post was erected at the main parking area. It lasted three days before it was pushed over,” said the irate resident.

Ryley said that while the residents’ concerns were valid, he did not foresee the municipality closing down the parking bays off The Promenade Road.

“I will discuss the residents’ concerns with the relevant departments and request that new signage be erected and no-parking lines be added to the road to limit the access. It is a matter of enforcing the by-laws and individual behaviour,” he said.