Coastal mansion owners in Sandbanks, Dorset, have sparked a row with dog walkers and nature lovers after erecting a 40-foot fence on a beach behind their homes. The fence, located between a yacht club and the back gardens of mansions in a cul-de-sac called The Horseshoe, is accompanied by signs reading 'Private Beach' and 'Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted'. A security camera with motion sensors has also been mounted on the fence of a £3.5 million waterfront property.
Members of the Sandbanks Community Group (SCG) say their WhatsApp group has been flooded with over 100 angry messages about the fence. Sue Spencer, 75, who has lived in Sandbanks for four decades, said she was challenged by a homeowner while walking along the foreshore last year. 'Now it is more people with money who think they can do what they like,' she said. Another resident called the fence 'a land grab' and 'very oppressive'.
Alan Lester, a retired barrister and secretary of the SCG, has instructed lawyers to take legal action. He noted that Land Registry deeds state the area from the high water mark to the foreshore below is public. 'Members of the public are put off from using the foreshore,' he said. 'What purpose does it serve? It is to give the impression that the other side of it is private.' Lester added that the fence could set a 'dangerous precedent' and that public use over many years may have established a prescriptive right to access the foreshore.
None of the homeowners along The Horseshoe provided a comment. One homeowner, who declined to be named, said he had no idea who erected the fence or signs, adding: 'How would you like it if members of the public walked through your back garden?' Neither BCP Council nor Dorset Police were able to comment. One of the homes on The Horseshoe is currently on the market for £3,750,000, with an estate agent's description noting it has 'private sand at the bottom of the garden adjoining the beach'.
