Parking restrictions a tax on nature lovers
I HAVE just sent the following letter to Carmarthenshire County Council on behalf of Carmarthenshire Bird Club. I hope it is of interest:
I am writing on behalf of Carmarthenshire Bird Club in relation to the proposal to “double yellow” Factory Road and the Cefn
Sidan access road to the car park near CE53 and install a pay-anddisplay machine at this small car park.
Members frequently use these roads and we have never seen safety-related reasons for these restrictions. Accesses are not blocked and there are no occasions when emergency vehicles could not use this route.
The car park at the end of the road near CE53 is small and will only hold a few cars. The impact of the restrictions will be to put a tax on visiting Pembrey Burrows and Cefn Sidan, and, because of the lack of parking, restrict the numbers visiting these sites. Carmarthenshire Bird Club and other organisations organise field trips to Pembrey Burrows and there will not be adequate parking for these visits.
It appears that the council is using Cefn Sidan beach, Pembrey Forest and Pembrey Burrows nature reserve as a revenue stream, and in particular to force people to park in the country park. This is especially odd as other sources of revenue such as the motor-caravans parked on Burry Port east beach and Pembrey Harbour harbour car park appear to have been given up. It will be easier and cheaper for a jet-skier to park and launch for free at Burry Port and illegally enter the Pembrey Burrows channel than for a nature lover to visit Pembrey Burrows nature reserve.
It is also surprising that the council believes it can enforce parking regulations along Factory Road when it has signally failed to do so on Station Road, Burry Port, which has people continually parked on double yellow lines all day and most of the evening and which does constitute a block on traffic and a danger to pedestrians.
The proposed restrictions are an unwarranted tax on nature lovers and walkers, and do nothing to protect important sites from canoeists, jet-skiers and scramblers.
Please note our opposition to these proposals. Adam Dare Chair Carmarthenshire Bird Club