Hoylake Beach Management Consultation

Wirral Council is undertaking a Have Your Say consultation on Hoylake Beach. The purpose of the consultation is to seek views from residents and the wider community on their preferred management option for Hoylake Beach. The management options for consultation have been developed based on the initial consultation undertaken from June to August 2022.

The consultation is open until 25th March 2024 and can be found here:
https://haveyoursay.wirral.gov.uk/hoylake-beach-management-plan

The outputs from the consultation will be used to identify a preferred management option for Hoylake Beach and will be taken forward for political approval via Wirral Council’s Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee in spring 2024. A preferred option will then be submitted to Natural England for their consideration, as the beach is internationally important, being a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Area for birds and a Ramsar site.

Option 1: Access for All

Option 2: Amenity Beach

There are details of both options on the Hoylake Beach Management Plan website.

Wirral Wildlife committee feel that the best option for wildlife of the beach would be not to have any clearance at all of the naturally developing vegetation as it will remove important habitat. However, if clearance is needed for the RNLI operations, this should be the minimum area possible. Option 1 would be better than Option 2 as that involves least clearance but we would still have concerns about the damage this would cause to this rare habitat. The cost of yearly operations to achieve this outcome is another consideration. These are the points we will make in our submission.

We would encourage you to submit any comments you may have regarding this phase of consultation to hoylakebeach@wirral.gov.uk by 25th March 2024. More information regarding Hoylake Beach and the consultation process can be found here:
https://haveyoursay.wirral.gov.uk/hoylake-beach-management-plan

Coastal Changes on Hoylake Beach

Natural coastal change is happening on Hoylake beach through the increased volume of sand being deposited on the shore, encouraging the growth of specialist sand dune and saltmarsh plants. This vegetation is capturing windblown sand. With further growth and stabilisation, fixed dunes will form, preventing sand from being blown onto the prom and nearby streets and gardens.

To try to counter the misinformation and misunderstanding on this subject, Dr Jane Turner (Hoylake resident, member of Cheshire and Wirral Ornithological Society and BTO surveyor) has created the infographics shown below. Jane has kindly allowed us to reproduce her work.

The changing profile of Hoylake beach

Diagram showing the process of dune ridge development at Hoylake beach

Grass capturing windblown sand

Why increasing amounts of sand are being blown onto the prom

How much sand will the plants protect us from

A comparison of Spartina and Puccinelia grasses

Fears v facts

The effects of the changing beach on wading birds

The effects of the changing beach on non-wading birds

Briefing Pages

 

Aerial photo of coast at Red Rocks, Hoylake.
Photo: Rachael Webster, Flickr

There is a new section on our website called Briefing Pages:

https://www.wirralwildlife.org.uk/briefing-pages

As we are frequently asked for our position on local issues affecting wildlife we have made available some of our recent responses, as well as supporting documents. Currently you can read about Hoylake Beach, Natural England Advice to Wirral Borough Council Regarding Beach Management, Wildflower Verges and Long Grass and Lyme Disease. New articles will be added in response to developing issues.

Wirral Wader Festival

The Wirral Wader Festival takes place on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd October.

There will be events held at Thurstaston Visitor Centre, Red Rocks Nature Reserve, Hoylake Promenade, Leasowe Lighthouse and RSPB Burton Mere.

For more details see:

wirralwaderfestival.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook: Wirral Wader Festival

www.waderquest.org

www.deeestuary.co.uk

Hoylake Beach

Blog readers may have seen or heard press items about the future of the beach at Hoylake, in particular whether the efforts to remove the grass should continue or not. We have put forward the case that the rising beach levels are a natural process, carrying on the accretion in the Dee estuary that has been continuous since the last Ice Age, and is getting increasingly expensive to fight.

Allowing the development of salt marsh and sand dune, as in our Red Rocks nature reserve, would benefit plants, invertebrates and Natterjack toads. It might remove a part of the feeding area for of the waders, so would not be all gain. Can people who live locally, or know the area well, please take the time to read items put up by Hoylake Village Life on the websites below? The Hoylake Village Life people are trying to stimulate a sensible conversation locally about the issue. Please join in the conversation, either on line or at public meetings organised by Hoylake Village Life.

www.hoylakevision.org.uk

www.hoylakevillage.org.uk

www.hoylakejunction.com

A Green Beach at Hoylake?

Wirral Wildlife has responded to Council proposals to save money by cutting back on beach and park maintenance. Our Conservation Officer Hilary Ash was quoted in the Liverpool Echo on 31st December, explaining that cessation of beach spraying would more likely lead to sand dune creation, rather than silting up as at Parkgate.

Hilary can also be heard on Radio Merseyside on Friday 4th January just after 7 a.m. You can listen to the interview for up to a week from broadcast through the Radio Merseyside website, one hour and 8 minutes into the show.