Beach campsite closure 'will ruin our lives'

A DECISION by two councils to stop a 100-year-old beach campsite "will ruin our lives" say residents.

- By LEE TREWHELA

Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council placed eviction notices on unique tented chalets which are used by locals on a Cornish beach earlier this year, due to safety concerns. They have now said they will remove the cabins as soon as possi ble.

Families who have used the huts on Sandway beach on the Rame Peninsula for decades are aghast at the decision and say that the safety concerns have been over-exaggerated. The members of the Sandway Campers Association, who maintain the chalets, say they are prepared to put any mitigations in place to ensure the long-held tradition continues.

Sandway beach, which is jointly owned and managed by Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council, was leased to the campers for 15 years. However, the local authorities decided not to renew the lease after it expired in March 2024 due to the risk of rockfalls and flooding. They say that in recent years there have been several landslides at the site, with rockfalls landing dangerously close to tented huts - something which the users refute.

In early June 2025 the councils asked the campsite association to remove its huts from the site. A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said this week: "There have been regular discussions between the councils and the association over the last two months. To ensure that people do not put themselves at risk by staying in the tents and to prevent them from being washed out to sea, the councils will be removing any remaining tents as soon as weather and tidal conditions allow."