A DECISION by two councils to stop a 100-year-old beach campsite “will ruin our lives” say residents.

Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council placed eviction notices on unique tented chalets which are used by locals on a Cornish beach earlier this year due to safety concerns – and have now said they will remove the cabins as soon as possible.

Families who have used the huts on Sandway beach on the Rame Peninsula for decades are aghast at the decision and say that the safety concerns have been over-exaggerated.

The members of the Sandway Campers Association, who maintain the chalets, say they are prepared to put any mitigations in place to ensure the long-held tradition continues.

Sandway beach, which is jointly owned and managed by Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council, was leased to the campers for 15 years. However, the local authorities decided not to renew the lease after it expired in March 2024 due to the risk of rockfalls and flooding. They say that in recent years there have been several landslides at the site, with rockfalls landing dangerously close to tents – something which the users refute.

In early June 2025, the councils asked the campsite association to remove its huts from the site. A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said on Wednesday (August 20): “There have been regular discussions between the councils and the association over the last two months. To ensure that people do not put themselves at risk by staying in the tents and to prevent them from being washed out to sea, the councils will be removing any remaining tents as soon as weather and tidal conditions allow.”

As of last week all 20 huts were still on the beach and concerned residents say that much of the reason for stopping the campsite is based on a 2013 Environment Agency (EA) report which said there was a “risk to life”. The chalet users argue the report was never deemed serious enough to be considered in five subsequent planning permissions granted to the campsite and it was completed out of season when the huts weren’t even in situ – they go up between April and September.

However, the councils say that geo-technical experts assessed the cliffs in 2024 and again in June 2025 and concluded there is a serious and ongoing risk to anyone occupying the land, especially overnight when people are sleeping. A Cornwall Council spokesperson said that the EA reiterated its concerns this year about flooding and storm risks, which are exacerbated by rising sea levels and the increasing frequency of storms.

Cllr Kate Ewert, who represents the Rame Peninsula at Cornwall Council, spoke out following the council’s announcement saying it contained factual inaccuracies.

She said: “Why the sudden movement when the camping association are due to have their own independent land survey returned any day, the one that the councils wouldn’t pay towards? I will keep fighting this.

“One of the arguments by the EA is that on a spring tide there will be a danger. They’ve used photographs from a spring tide in March and you will note from the photos that there are no cabins because they’re not there then. The time that this gets battered is on high spring tides, which happen at either end of the year when the cabins aren’t here.

“If there was a massive easterly and a high tide over the summer when these guys were here, they wouldn’t be in the cabins because it’s their families – it’s their kids and grandchildren – and they wouldn’t put them at risk. None of these people are rebels or rabble-rousers. They have all grown up in this area, by the sea, and are well aware of the dangers and won’t use the cabins then.

“The group had an independent flood report commissioned after the EA said there was a risk of flooding. It stated the risk was low and Cornwall Council accepted that. Therefore, now when they bring up a flood risk, that’s wrong because they accepted it in 2024.”

Becky Lingard lives in Kingsand and is the owner of one of the huts. She said: “This has 100% ruined our lives. I’ll get emotional in a minute. I grew up on this campsite and all my friends grew up here together. My children then grew up here as did my grandchildren. There is nothing in the area except this.

“We started asking about the lease renewal. They turned around and said it wouldn’t be renewed because of risk of the bank [behind the cabins] falling. In 90 years that’s fallen once, in 2013, and that was because in 2012 it was a really wet summer and loads of areas had falls which don’t usually have falls.

“The councils did an inspection after that and put mitigations in place and Sandway did everything and more we were asked to do. Our argument is have they been here? Have they seen it? They don’t understand it. They’re talking about a cliff, but it’s not a cliff.”

The campsite users say they are willing to put further mitigations in place.

“The councils could even say we can only use it during the day,” said Mrs Lingard. “I’m not even allowed up there [the raised platform where the chalets are based above the beach]. You can go up there, but I can’t because I’m trespassing because I’m a member of the Sandway Campers Association. A member of the public can. It’s ridiculous.”

Cllr Ewert added: “We could end up with a huge platform which is empty. We know what can happen because it happened during Covid when the tents didn’t go up – you’ve got youths and other people thinking it’s a nice place to camp and start a fire. That creates more risk for people.

“We really feel that it’s been over-exaggerated. Everyone who has these chalets, everyone who lives here, we understand the risks of the sea and coastal erosion. We’re not stupid.”

The association members have commissioned their own independent geo-technical survey, the results of which are due this week. They say the councils refused to co-fund it.

Cllr Loic Rich, Cabinet member responsible for environment and climate change at Cornwall Council, said: “Many people have fond memories of camping at Sandways. We understand that it’s a really special place for visitors and locals alike, but safety has to be our number one priority.

“Due to the risks posed by both the cliff behind and the encroaching sea, we cannot allow people to stay there. It is simply too dangerous.”

The Cornwall Council spokesperson said the local authorities have agreed to help the association look for an alternative site but there is no certainty one will be found.