Car park condition prompts concerns for image of popular Northumberland coastal village

Cllr Ed Williams led the concerns about the condition of the Alnmouth beach car park – the village’s only car park.

“I think its condition ought to be improved,” he told an Alnmouth Parish Council meeting. "It doesn’t do the village any good.

"If you look at the TripAdvisor comments, people are absolutely appalled that they have to pay what is a reasonable amount of money to leave their cars and stand in great puddles of water. The surface is just appalling and it reflects very badly on the village.”

He asked if there was any scope for it being upgraded, possibly in collaboration with the parish council or Northumberland County Council

Cllr Shaun Whyte said he would speak to the burgage holders about it.

But he added: “Their view is that they spend a frighteningly large amount of money repairing that car park every year. And I doubt NCC would want to pick it up because they’re not involved, it’s the burgage holders.

"Ed makes a serious point though. Towards the end of the winter the surface of the car park is absolutely appalling. They tend to repair it in the springtime but Ed’s right, it’s not a good advert for Alnmouth.”

Cllr Susanne Gair pointed out that it is free to park there in the winter.

Cllr Simon Walford explained: “It’s built on sand so all the top dressing they do disappears into the sub-surface.”

Cllr George Ternant, who is also a director of the burgage holders, added: “The car park down by the beach is being upgraded all the time and it is the cheapest car park on the whole coast. We’ve recently filled all the holes in and we’re doing that two or three times a year.”

Cllr Williams responded: “I am aware of the costs and the difficulties of things being washed in on high tides and in storms and so on but the point I am making is quite simply that the Tripdvisor comments, many from people visiting the village for the first time, have a pretty shocking reaction to what they find. There are lots of unsatisfied customers.”

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