A popular Lossiemouth car park has been forced to close after severe damage from coastal erosion and recent storms – leaving locals and tourists without easy access to the scenic West Beach.
The car park, a favourite spot during the summer months, was closed by the council on November 20. The footpath remains damaged, and residents are urgently seeking solutions to repair the area.
One business – a local cafe – has even closed its doors until the situation is fixed.
While the car park has been prone to flooding in the past, locals are now calling this the worst damage yet.
Representatives from the Lossiemouth Community Council, Lossiemouth Community Development Trust, Moray Golf Club, and Moray Council gathered at the site this week to raise awareness of the situation.
Although a small section of the car park remains open, the majority of the area is closed off as the community awaits a resolution.
Closed car park is ‘inaccessible’ to Lossiemouth locals
Alison Read founded the Cod Heids, a wild swimming group in the town, five years ago with a friend.
Since then, around 30 regular swimmers attend the beach a “couple of times” a week to go wild swimming.
The damage to the car park means it is now inaccessible to those who hope to park beside the beach.
She said: “Access is so important here because it’s probably one of the safest places to swim along the coast.
“We’ll come here and then maybe go to The Beach Hut for a coffee afterwards.”
In a post on social media, The Beach Hut cafe said it has closed its doors until the situation has been fixed.
“Today is really about bringing the community together,” Alison – who is also the development officer for Lossiemouth Community Development Trust – told The Press and Journal.
“We’re all sharing the same information and collaborating with the council to find the right solution.
“We appreciate that the council are facing financial difficulties but we do need to find some short-term and long-term solutions that will allow us to continue using this car park.”
Alan Ellison, a member of the paddle-boarding group Moray SUP, comes to West Beach frequently.
“Some people hire the equipment, so if we can’t get it in the car park then that means people can’t take part safely,” he added.
“It’s just a shame that we can’t use this space.”
Limited Lossiemouth parking under even more strain
Gina Mcnicoll, a member of the Lossiemouth Community Council, said: “Parking in Lossiemouth in general is already very limited.
“We don’t have many places to go which means people will park on residential streets – though this will just cause problems with neighbours.”
Jon Heald, who is conducting a study on coastal erosion in the area, also has ties to the neighbouring golf club.
“The car park is absolutely essential to the golf club,” he said.
“Annually, we see over 3,500 visitors to the club, so parking is quite important.”
SNP councillor Neil Cameron for Heldon and Laich added: “The closure of the car park affects everybody.
“Moray Golf Club run the second oldest amateur open championship here every year.
“The car park gets really busy, and so this will really affect them.”
Lossiemouth community gathers to raise awareness about ‘serious’ damage
Lossiemouth Community Development Trust chairperson Fiona Conti said: “We just want to show we’re all together as a community trying to raise awareness of this.
“I think if we don’t address this quite quickly then it’s only going to get bigger.
“As a trust, we’re not able to take responsibility for fixing it.
“But I think we can show as a community that we’re trying to raise the awareness that something serious has happened here.”
When Fiona originally saw the damage, she said it was unlike anything she had seen before.
“I was absolutely shocked,” she added.
“The power of waves to do that, and move huge slabs of concrete is just immense.
“I’m quite used to seeing boulders and stones here, as well as it being flooded, but that is completely something else.”
A Moray Council spokesperson said it is actively trying to find a solution.
“Moray Council leases the land where the car park for the West Beach is situated and is currently procuring a more substantial temporary solution for fencing off the worst affected area, in the interests of public safety,” they said.
“This will allow for over 50% of the car park to remain open to the public, including access to the Ponderosa café and accessible parking spaces. Options for repairing the weather and sea related damage are also being worked up, with a range of medium and long-term solutions to the complex landscape being considered.
“Moray Council will continue to engage with interested community groups as these options are prepared.”
Conversation