Posts Tagged ‘ferry’
Residents banned from beach have it declared – a village green
The beach looked busy in the 1950′s
The French owners of historic Newhaven port closed the town’s pristine West Beach in February 2008, claiming it was a health and safety hazard.
Campaigners launched a legal battle against Newhaven Port and Properties (NPP) to get access to the fenced-off shoreline, which is the only sandy beach in the area.
Now a planning inspector has ruled the stretch of sand should be classed as a village green, meaning locals would have the right to use it.
Even though the beach does not have grass, a piece of land that has been used by a town’s inhabitants for more than 20 years can legally be registered as a village green. Newhaven Town Council assembled an archive of more than 1,000 family holiday snaps dating back 80 years to show the beach has been in continuous use.
NPP previously threatened to halt their Newhaven-Dieppe cross-Channel ferry service if they were forced to open it.
Ironically, the beach is overlooked by a famous 19th century fort built to fight off a possible French invasion…
Har! A truly grassroots victory.
Pic of the Day
From the GUARDIAN Eyewitness series
Pakistanis crowd around an army helicopter as it delivers desperately needed food supplies to the village of Tul in Sindh Province, southern Pakistan, which is surrounded by floodwaters.
Pic of the Day – Truck dangling from roll-on/roll-off ferry
Makes for an exciting non-journey.
