Landowner tells visitors to behave ahead of Lunan Bay car park re-opening

A popular beach car park will re-open this week with a plea to visitors to behave sensibly and avoid a repeat of the chaos brought to the area during lockdown.

Angus Council leases the Lunan Bay beach car park from local landowners and is set to unlock the gates there on Friday.

It follows defiance of a traffic order put in place by the authority which was a factor in the business which operates the hotel, campsite and diner there deciding not to re-open until next year.

Lunan Bay Stays said its priority was to ensure it could protect the safety of staff once coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

Business owner Scott Bremner held a meeting with locals on Monday to assure them everything possible would be done to make sure the car park is properly used when it re-opens.

The beach is an Angus hotspot during spells of good weather but abandoned cars on the narrow roads around Lunan, and on the farm track leading to it, led to fears emergency services would struggle for access in the event of an incident.

Mr Bremner said: “The council lease the car park from us and will operate it on a day to day basis.

“It is just a shame that we have had these problems with people not abiding by the five-mile rule and coming from miles away to the beach.

“The majority of people have done what’s been asked of them but if you live in a rural area like this then it’s the actions of not many which just spoil it for everyone.”

He said consideration had been given to a lease arrangement with staff which might have allowed the campsite and diner to re-open, but it didn’t come to fruition.

“It’s a balancing act to keep the beach open but respect the habitat and the local community,” he said.

“We could just close the farm road but all that would do is put the problem elsewhere.

“The car park has room for about 100 cars and we’re of the view that it shouldn’t really get any bigger.”

He said there had been issues with littering in the area and previous instances of wild camping.

“The campsite will remain closed so that is something else we will have to look out for,” said Mr Bremner.

An Angus Council spokesperson said: “A council officer is scheduled to meet with the business operator tomorrow (Tuesday) prior to the car park’s scheduled re-opening on Friday, subject to Scottish Government confirmation.”