Families are fighting to save a caravan park from closure after being banned from staying there for over a year. Natural movement of sand dunes on to the access road of the site means it could be shut for good.
Freshfield Caravan Park in Formby first opened on Victoria Road in the early 1980s and has welcomed generations of families. Sixty families currently have static caravans at the holiday caravan park, which leases the land from the National Trust.
But since March last year, no one has been allowed to access the site to stay overnight due to a ruling made by Natural England. As sand has drifted across the access road into the caravan park from the surrounding sand dunes, it can no longer be cleared “due to the negative impacts this would have on the dunes and its biodiversity."
Clare Shipway, 43, from Blackburn, told the Liverpool Echo: "Sand has slipped down onto the road, which it always does. Someone usually goes down right at the beginning of the season and moves the sand off the access road and moves it into the area where the sand dune is.
"The National Trust are saying Natural England won't allow us to move the sand and because of that we can't access our caravans. We've been in this stalemate with them for many months where they're saying we can't move the sand."
Subscribe here for the latest news where you live
She continued: "It means everything to me and it does to everyone else - this is what they've not anticipated. "There was initially talk of will there be compensation for each caravan? We're a community who have generational connections, we're not just out for money.
"Me and my husband work full time and to be able to go down on a Friday means everything for our physical and mental wellbeing. We've been brought up with everyone there and now we have our own children."
The access road sits within Sefton Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC), meaning legal consent is needed from Natural England to carry out any activity that may impact on the sand dunes. The sand dunes have been slipping closer to the caravan park for many years, says the National Trust, accelerated by storms at the end of 2021 and the start of 2022.
In 2017, a 15-year lease was granted to Freshfield Caravan Park by the National Trust. It is understood the lease was accompanied by an agreement to end it in circumstances where the natural movement of sand upon the site and/or the access road created a significant threat to the health and safety of those using it.
Clare's mum and dad and secretary and director of the park, Jack Downham, 70, and Eileen Stokes, 67, take care of the day to day running of the site. Eileen said Freshfield Caravan Park signed the agreement on the basis it would clear the sand from the access road so it never reached a level, marked out on a post on the caravan park, where it posed a health and safety risk.
Eileen said: "Of course it's going to trigger that if we're not allowed to move the sand. We've happily moved the sand for the last 40 years - we pay for that clearance ourselves."
Lesley Davis, 43, from Formby, has used the site with her family for eight years. She said: "We're a community of 200 plus people who have not been able to stay on site for over a year now.
"It's such a lovely community down there. We call it our piece of paradise because it's just lovely."
Lesley said the National Trust was asked if another access road to the site could be created, or if an existing track through the woodland can be utilised, instead. When the ECHO asked the National Trust about this, it said: "We have given serious consideration to alternative access routes and have sought advice from planning advisors, ecology experts and other consultants.
"However, we have concluded that this is not a viable solution. The chances of getting planning permission are very low, and both the National Trust and Directors of Freshfield Caravan Park have agreed that the likely cost and time involved in developing a scheme would be excessive. Creating a new access road would also be a short-term fix as we cannot say with certainty how long it will be before the caravan park itself is covered by the sand dunes."
Lesley said: "They're not giving us any other options other than 'we can help you move your caravans off' and basically then it will close. We're all fighting to stay on there.
"We've got two boys, 11 and nine, and they love it down there. It's such a healthy environment to play with their friends."
Liz Risley, 48, from Fazakerley, bought a caravan there in 2009. She said: "I feel as though we've been cut off and we've been left stranded and no one seems to be willing to give us any resolution or any answers.
"We've built friendships up with other families over the years. We have a Halloween party at the end of the season, we have a summer party through the summer holidays.
"You can let the kids play outside and because they're in the confines of the caravan park, it's safe and secure. It's not like a caravan park it's like a community."
What did the National Trust say?
Eleanor Underhill, assistant director of operations at the National Trust, said: “Due to natural sand dune movement, Freshfield Caravan Park at Formby is currently inaccessible. We are in discussion with the Directors of Freshfield Caravan Park Ltd, who lease this land from the National Trust, about the future of the site.
"Without the consent from Natural England to clear the access road or an alternative location for the caravan park to be moved to at National Trust Formby, it is our belief that there is no other option but to close the site. Our discussions with the Directors of the caravan park are ongoing, and we have not yet reached a conclusion.
"We appreciate how frustrating and upsetting this must be for people with caravans on the site and we’re committed to keeping them updated as much as we are able to. We’d encourage anyone with a caravan at Freshfield Caravan Park who has questions to get in touch with us on formby@nationaltrust.org.uk, or to speak to the Directors of FCP Ltd directly.
"Natural dune movement is an important feature of a healthy sand dune system. Formby’s dunes, and the rare wildlife that call them home, form part of the protected Sefton Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).”
What did Natural England say?
A Natural England Spokesperson said: "Sefton Coast dunes are the largest dune system in England. They are nationally and internationally important for a range of dune habitats and specialist species such as the Natterjack Toad.
“With natural movement of the sand dunes at Formby, having been happening for a number of years, Natural England formally declined consent to clear the access track to Freshfield Caravan Park on 07 April 2022 due to the negative impacts this would have on the dunes and its biodiversity.
“We understand this is a difficult situation with potential impacts on the caravan park. However, the dunes are dependent on natural processes including the sand movement.
"Therefore, it would be against the conservation aims of the site to continue to remove the sand indefinitely. We will continue to consider proposals from the National Trust while also ensuring the continued conservation and enhancement of this legally protected site.”
