Earnse Bay Access Action Group

Earnse Bay Access Action Group During the upcoming sea defence work at our best beach "Earnse Bay"The Marine Management Org has directed the council to not repair the road access.

A source of information and to swap ideas to help instigate a pressure group to force the Marine Management Organisation to reconsider their stance that the shore front at Earnse Bay should not be accessible to vehicles. This beach has been accessible to the Barrow public and visitors for decades yet the MMO has suddenly decided that vehicles are to blame for the demise of vegetated shingle on the

shore front. The aim is to firstly ask for their evidence and put a case together to prove it is more so to do with the higher tides, bad storms and also has become worse since the introduction of the whale tail sea defence.

13/02/2025

There's not been anything positive to report I'm afraid but a couple of months ago I did have a decent unrushed conversation with our latest MP. I hopefully filled her in on some missing information or information she had been trying to get and getting no straight answers to regarding the sea defences and ownership of the land. She was appalled that my application to have the road declared a right if way was still 9th in line to be looked at after 9 years of waiting and was hopefully going to see what could be done. For those who don't see what ive been trying to do with the rights of way it's simply once a path or road is declared a right of way it can never be blocked and has to be maintained. This of course might have been helpful 8 or 9 years ago when there was still something there but I'm still going ahead with the application to hopefully hold whoever is accountable for allowing it to happen to account and have some form of work done to at least halt the problem.

29/08/2024

Hello followers old and new. As there have been more photos and concerns regarding the road I have checked where in the DMMO applications the case sits and it is now at number 9 in priority after 10 years. For those wondering why I thought it was significant to apply for the road to be mapped as a right of way my logic is that if it was accepted that the road always has been a right of way then the landowner is obligated to maintain it as a right of way. I had run out of ideas after many pleas and meetings with various people. All I can say is come together, show strength in numbers and put pressure on your Walney councillors and council to give some answers as to why the road was just left to fall into the sea whilst the golf course was protected at the cost of the road.

08/09/2022

Time for a quick update again, the process to claim rights of way is so draggesd out there has been nothing to report but after recent photos of the road appeared on FB showing just how dangerous it had become I have sent a few e mails out once again. I questioned if I could add anyone to the application as I have been waiting 8 years now and the application only stands at number 21 in the queue, to change the applicant has to be a start from the beginning again, I'm now 59 and don't hold up hope of lasting long enough to see the problem dealt with. I'm also moving out of town so they will accept that and send any correspondence to me at least. I questioned why it was being processed as a restricted byway and apparently that is the maximum acces you can claim for. So in a nutshell it's still a waiting game, the council thinks it had gone away 8 years ago and failed to maintain a safe passage, walkay or anything and think putting an orange plastic barrier negates their responsibility, let's face it we have seen a pothole in road sign in places for a year or so instead of just fixing the pothole on local roads. Although I don't think the council own the road past the ramp they have for years assumed responsibility up to a point and taken actions in the past without any consultation to the land owner therefore by assuming responsibility in the past cannot just choose when to ignore the road when it becomes a problem. I am determined to continue with this, it would have cost a lot less to sort it at the same time as the rock armour, it will now cost a fortune when they have to reinstate a safe restricted byway, I tried to have them cosider doing something back then and I hope I get chance to say "I told you so". In the meantime it wouldn't go amiss if everyone who is passionate about it to get in touch with any Walney councillors to have them earn a bit of their title, it's what they signed up for as well as whatever else their agenda was at the time. Not one Walney councillor in eight years has ever been in touch with me, it's not as if I've been hiding on unable to be contacted.

07/09/2020

Been a while again, This morning I e mailed the people concerned to see where we stand with the DMMO case, still waiting for an answer but had notification of reciept of the request at least. Just a few things to look back on from the last word from a meeting in 2014 with Phil Huck and 3 persons from Natural England. It was said they wanted vehicular access stopped as they were installing a route including access for disabled including wheelchairs that would provide a safe route allowing people to park on the car park and access the nature reserve. I had a ride over the beach yesterday to see how the work was going on this access since 2014 and low and behold I just saw further deterioration of the road after the sea defence and not a sign of any work, just what they wanted, the road to further deteriorate. Some good news along with the bad though is that the case is being looked at and questions will be asked to those responsible for not acting by people with much more clout and influence than me and hopefully those responsible will be held to account for allowing the demise of what has been a right of way for locals and visitors to the area for decades. For those who joined the group to keep tags on any progress and have ulterior motives and oppose the road being reinstated, sorry but your underhand tactics are due to be uncovered and questioned.

21/01/2019

Been nothing to report until now hence no posts. However I still endeavor to have the road listed as a right of way and the position in the priority list is now 35 out of 45 cases. I know the road is in a state once again but it is a matter of principal and having the choice that matters. Here is a section af the latest received e mail. I will now get the application listed on our website.

Unfortunately, the application itself is not a high priority and currently stand at no 35 out of an outstanding 45. However I will keep you informed of any progress.
Keep positive.

30/07/2016

Been a long time since posting on the group mainly because all has been well, people have been able to fully access the shorefront once again and many people have enjoyed that freedom. There is a bit of a downside though I'm sad to say. Recently due to the past few weeks of nicer than usual good weather apparently the beach has been very busy with people who only visit the beach a couple of times a year and who don't know how to conduct themselves. I have been told by a couple of people that they have picked up between them 7 bags full of rubbish consisting of plastic and glass bottles, beer and pop cans, general rubbish and throw -away BBQs. I find this so annoying considering this was one of the reasons the council and natural england wanted to keep the road closed, not that it stops people walking down but it was one of their main arguments. Please if you see this happening have a polite diplomatic word about peoples rubbish if you feel it is at all possible, I know it's hard to talk to most people without getting abuse but sometimes it is possible. I have recently had to do this with guys launchin and landing their kites on the top of the stones and they understood without any problems. Hopefully everyone has enjoyed their extended access this year and long may it continue.

19/07/2015

What an absolute pleasure to be able to drive up the beach front this morning to have a kitesurf, great to see the people of Barrow and visitors also enjoying the freedom to drive, park up and enjoy the beach as it should be enjoyed. Been home for a couple of hours now reflecting on the last year and how different it was to feel banned, closed out and dismissed as being important when it came to trying to get the road opened again. One thing that sprung to mind was the lack of any help or advice from any of the North Walney councillors, these people have been voted into their positions by the public to serve the public yet not one stepped forward to help with the issue we had, I for one find that despicable and if I had still been a Walney resident and voted for any of them I would feel very cheated. If you don't have the time to help with local issues or have enough backbone to confront the council then don't put yourselves forward to be elected. To think the 3 councillors now responsible for North Walney belong to a party that once protected local workers rights and stood up hard for the people just shows how much that party has changed.
I urge the people of this access group to think long and hard before placing a vote for local councillors again. "Rant over".

11/07/2015

Well it seems looking at some of my facebook friends pictures today that the large boulder blocking the road has been moved and people are once again able to enjoy the beach the way they have for decades. Now I'm not sure if the council have done this off their own back or under instruction from the Cumbria County Council who may have looked at the application for the road to be mapped as a right of way, the application was not due to be looked at for a long time yet but you never know. Anyway people of Barrow and lovers of the freedom of the outdoors, get yourselves to Earnse and enjoy the wonderful weather and the ability to drive and park on the shorefront as you have done for many years.

12/02/2015

SPRING IS IN THE AIR.
Apologies for the lack of any progress updates but basically nothing has been happening. This morning after failing to find any sign of my rights of way application on the Cumbria County Council web sie I have e mailed to request an update. In the meantime I feel it is time to step up the campaign to be able to drive that road again this spring /summer and I don't mean just me,there are 677 people now following this group and we need some strength in numbers and ideas/plan Bs to ways to progress the plight of the closed road.
One of my thoughts is "but needs checking from a legal standpoint" if no-one seems to own the road or admit to owning the road is it actually legal for a non land owner to block it and is it illegal for another 3rd party to unblock it? I reckon there could be no repercussions unles a legal land owner were to call the police and report trespass or criminal damage. I was hoping to not get to need a plan B but due to the lack of action from the countycouncil for the right of way application and lack of help from local members of parliment it has force other directions to be explored. Please try tocome up with some reasonable and executable ways forward and plese be prepared to help impliment the ideas rather than just throw fuel on a fire.

21/10/2014

Here in short is some of the outcome from yesterdays meeting with Phil Huck and 3 representatives from Natural England. I will follow up with more detail when I stop feeling sick at the thought of never being able to drive up the shore front and park up again.

1, Upon completion of the sea defences the contractors have been told to replace rocks on the tarmac road to discourage vehicles trying to access the shore front and it is possible the road will be blocked in a more permanent way “barrier?”

At my request to try to appease different groups of people who used to use the shore-front at the beach and to try to soften the blow Phil Huck has agreed to initiate the following, although the final decision may not be totally in his hands. Please bear with me on the following, I will explain in more detail when I'm up to it but it was better to come away with something rather than nothing.

1, to address the issue of disabled and elderly who used to park up to view the beach it is being looked into to designate the parking spaces at the end of the road facing out to see as disabled parking.

2, nothing to do with me but there are more plans imminent but not yet public knowledge that include improving access for walkers and wheelchairs from the point of the slipway following the former road, through the horse field and up t the nature reserve, this is in line with the coastal access bill.

3, After I raised some concerns about the watersports equipment being unloaded and set up amongst cars and members of the public if forced to park, unload and set up on the car park, Phil Huck has proposed talking with the estates department with regards to licensing the grass area to us as a group to maintain, fence and whatever we feel necessary so to give us a safe soft set up are separate to members of the public, maybe not totally useful to set up kites but maybe for drying off? This will be a lot better for the windsurfing fraternity I presume as it can't be nice having to set up on a road. This would be similar to the Roa Island set up and obviously need a lot of further discussion if this area is granted to get the best use from it. The showers could be used a bit more too if this was a hub for everyone to park and set up. It has possibilities.

I am gutted to have to admit the road can't be re-opened “will provide more details soon” and also gutted I have wasted 3 months of all my spare time chasing a problem that never existed as the given reason for not re-opening the road was not the true reason and was not backed by any evidence at the meeting, further to this if I had all the facts in the beginning instead of being given the run-around for many weeks we would have had an answer to the problem a lot earlier.

In my quest to get answers I have uncovered more than I intended and found that many decision making people over a long period of time have failed to do their job effectively, others have hidden facts, pushed decisions through without consultations and generally been eluded by common sense at times. However it has to be said that Phil Huck “if approached in a reasonable way” is a very amenable man and had a lot of concern for our concerns at yesterdays meeting, I may not have come away with the result I wanted but being realistic there is something on the table for us that I hope most of you can see as some form of improvement of what we have at present.

Many thanks to Rob Dunphy who attended the meeting with me as well as helping with some data and advice on the run up.

We all believe we live in a democracy but hell you really have to fight to be heard in this form of democracy. There may still be stuff to do to make the beach experience better so please keep an eye out for more announcements.

19/10/2014

Big meeting in the morning with Phil Huck and representatives of Natural England so hopefully I will have some news tomorrow night. Still not sure which way this meeting will go but I am hoping it will be positive.

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Barrow In Furness

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