A councillor has denied calling people “Tory beach activists” at a fiery meeting over Hoylake Beach.
Cllr Liz Grey, who chairs the council's Environment committee, was responding to a question over past comments from a member of the Hoylake Beach Community, a campaign group that has been seeking for vegetation to be cleared there since 2019.
The row over the beach which has divided the town of Hoylake continues, as Wirral Council develops two options for how the beach will be managed in the future before going back to the public for a final vote.
READ MORE: New Look's 'incredible' £36 dress that's 'perfect for a spring wedding'The controversy stems from a decision to stop spraying weedkiller on the beach due to the risk of an unlimited fine. The area is a protected habitat with rare plants found during surveys.
Several questions on the topic were asked at the meeting, including by Charlotte Smith, a disabled woman who has previously said she doesn’t feel safe walking across the beach because of the vegetation.
Previously at a heated meeting on November 30 2022 after comments from Cllr Andrew Gardner criticising Labour, members of the public at the meeting cheered and applauded.
In response, Cllr Grey said: “Sorry I didn’t realise that we were here being supported by a group of people from the Conservative Party, I actually thought they were beach activists.”
Referring to the comments at a meeting on March 20, Ms Smith said Cllr Grey had “disgracefully called members of the public attending that meeting Tory beach activists.
“I attended that meeting and as a disabled resident in Hoylake, I have throughout the campaign sought to restore Hoylake amenity beach and have advocated for reasonable access to Hoylake Beach which Wirral Borough Council has a public sector duty to provide.”
Ms Smith added: “I was shocked at the words the Environmental Chair used. It is my view that the Environmental Chair should apologise for her disparaging remarks which has caused great offence to me as a disabled resident by calling me a Tory activist when I have been trying to seek the restoration of the amenity beach to enable disabled people like me to access it.”
Cllr Grey responded: “You may wish to watch the webcast of the meeting to which you refer in your question as you do misquote the Chair several times in your question. I didn’t call anybody Tory beach activists.”
This was followed by shouts from the public and Cllr Grey added: “It is on webcast, one hour 45 minutes I believe. I didn’t call anybody Tory beach activists but I can appreciate how alarming it might be for beach activists or indeed anyone to be called Tories.”
In response to another question on the beach, Cllr Grey said issues around a slipway at King’s Gap had already been answered and that equality impact assessments would be done for any future management plan of the beach.
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