Plea from landowner ahead of car park reopening at beach traffic troublespot

Visitors urged to be responsible as gates unlocked

A car park at a popular beach will reopen this week with a plea to visitors to behave sensibly and avoid a repeat of the chaos brought to the area during lockdown.

Angus Council leases the Lunan Bay beach car park from local landowners and is due to unlock the gates there on Friday.

It follows defiance of a traffic order put in place by the authority which was a factor in the business which operates the hotel, campsite and diner there deciding not to reopen until next year.

Lunan Bay Stays said its priority was to ensure it could protect the safety of staff once coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

Business owner Scott Bremner held a meeting with locals yesterday to assure them everything possible would be done to make sure the car park is properly used when it reopens.

The beach is an Angus hotspot during spells of good weather but abandoned cars on the narrow roads around Lunan, and on the farm track leading to it, led to fears emergency services would struggle for access in the event of an incident.

Mr Bremner said: “It is just a shame that we have had problems with people not abiding by the five-mile rule and coming from miles away to the beach.

“The majority of people have done what’s been asked of them but if you live in a rural area like this then it’s the actions of not many which just spoil it for everyone.”

He said consideration had been given to a lease arrangement with staff which might have allowed the campsite and diner to reopen, but it did not come to fruition.

“It’s a balancing act to keep the beach open but respect the habitat and the local community,” he said.

He said there had been issues with littering in the area and previous instances of wild camping.

Picture: Mhairi Edwards. Cones had to be placed on the roads to stop motorists abandoning their vehicles on the grass verge.