Newquay Town Council wish to register their strong objection to the new waiting restrictions proposed under Infra25-426.
Whilst it is fully appreciated that parking and congestion around Porth Beach Road can present a challenge to Cornwall Council during the summer, increasing the current restrictions, from 5 months of the year to 8, will immediately impact the public's ability to access and enjoy Porth Beach. Similarly, doubling the hours of this restriction from 12 hours a day to 24 will act to multiply this same harmful effect.
Porth Beach has received national recognition under the British Beaches Seaside Award scheme. It is widely seen as a clean, safe, attractive and well-managed coastal stretch, making it a highly favoured family destination, both for our residents and for visitors to the town. The beach also attracts a wide and diverse range of users, including walkers, surfers and swimmers, as well as providing an important resource for valued community groups such as the Lusty Surf Life Saving Club and Newquay Road Runners.
Porth Beach is also Newquay's most accessible beach, enabling people with a wide range of disabilities to fully enjoy the coastal experience that our town offers. Porth Beach Road currently acts as an essential element of the 'gateway' to that experience, even more so given the ongoing status of the Porth Beach car park. The lack of any provision allowing Blue Badge holders to park in the proposed zone (subject to standard restrictions) is considered disappointing - such a concession could have helped preserve an element of access for any disabled person who would wish to use the beach.
The Town Council also has significant regard for the concerns raised by local businesses, whose very existence and vital contribution to our visitor economy almost completely relies upon the pulling-power of Porth Beach.
A complete absence of any justification for imposing these overly restrictive measures is the cause of great surprise and even greater concern, further strengthening the arguments for our robust objection to these proposed changes.
In conclusion, the Town Council gives great weight to the unique benefits that Porth Beach offers to our residents, to our visitors, to local businesses and to the town itself. It is for these reasons that Newquay Town Council strongly objects to the waiting restrictions proposed for Porth Beach Road, and to the significant harm they would inflict on Newquay as a whole.