Letter to the Editor: Beach parking article is just one councillor's perspective

(Editor, Meath Chronicle)

Dear sir - I write in response to your article 'Car ban drives rise in number of Bettystown beachgoers' (Meath Chronicle, 19th February) as the article is grossly flawed and comes as an insult to many Bettystown residents and retailers.

Over the last three years, Meath County Council chamber has been debating the pros and cons of having a car free beach. One such debate took place at last week's meeting as reported by other media outlets.

The article in this week’s Meath Chronicle similar to three previous in style on the same topic, giving the prospective of one elected councilor, Cllr Sharon Tolan, the article in no way challenges her opinion, the article appears to present her perspective as fact, the article gives no other opinion of elected members within the council chamber.

The reality is that Covid-19 led to a massive increase in the use of parks and beaches throughout Ireland with people been of work, though this was not seen in in Bettystown. In fact, Bettystown beach has seen a massive down turn in business for the last two years which in turn has had a detrimental impact.

In today's world being the supporter of business can sometimes be seen as a bad thing, however I live in a house where one job was lost due to the closure of the cars of Bettystown beach. Thankfully, my families plight and that of others like us has been raised on a multiple of occupations at council however our plight and perspective sadly has not been expressed by Cllr Tolan to date and in turn is has not too been covered by your papers last four articles on the subject.

Meath County Council issues five permits for the sale of ice cream, food, drinks and beach goods in Bettystown Beach yearly. The permits were in such demand that a raffle would have to take place to choose who got them. The day of the raffle would be tense as competition was high.

Last summer, the visitor numbers where down so much on Bettystown Beach despite the good weather there was no business for ice cream or goods to be sold on the beach. Out of the five permits only one was taken up and that business spent very limited there. With three jobs coming on average from each permeant, the normal 15 employees on the beach were reduced to one.

The mobile sale of icecream and goods has an advantage that it is mobile. Unlike many other businesses, who saw drops in trade and protested the beach closure, we had wheels and so we could move on.

This summer most ice cream men in the area will go to Baltray and Sea Point in Terminfeckin, since the closure of Bettystown Beach to cars, the people of the town of Drogheda has started going there. It offers a short walk from car to water unlike the option of parking in schools a kilometer from Bettystown beach. It is the sad reality of the actions of Meath County Council.

It did not have to be this way. In 2017 locals like myself and many others bought into a Beach Management Plan with included many good projects along with a proposal “for the long-term removal of cars of Bettystown Beach when alternative parking was provided.” Sadly some elected councilors used Covid to their advantage to break this agreement with the locals for their own agendas. “Bettystown for the people of Bettystown, not the people of Meath”.

I know reality out here, I know people who lost their jobs, I know mortgages that are hard to pay and I know the feeling of having the council turn their back, but I ask you dear editor to hold them to some account.

Yours,

Gerry 'Todge' Flemming,

Mornington.