Ok. So public access to the beach may be protected but has anyone realised that this right of access becomes a moot point if parking facilities are removed and no parking is allowed? Thus making the beach accessible to the few members of the public who are able bodied enough to walk God knows how far from the nearest parking? Don’t think this won’t happen either.

What about a co-operative purchase between interested parties, ensuring real people use and preservation…..Or is that toooooo difficult

It all boils down to what degree of conditions and protection they put on the beach. At the very least public access should be free and unlimited, and it should be made clear that selling the beach doesn’t imply planning permission for residential or commercial development. And certainly not any extraction of shingle.

BTW what exactly is meant by a beach? I always thought the bits between high and low water mark belonged to the Crown. And what about the stream that flows onto the beach? And if erosion moves the beach inland, does the new owner have a right to the new bits of beach? It sounds like a lawyer’s paradise to me!

Don’t worry, it will be a West Dorset District Council stitchup and the beach will be sold to their mates. Another of our public resources gone forever.

Joan – yes, I’ve seen various other websites and papers say it’s for sale, but it is not for sale at the moment.
However, the council’s executive committee did agree that it should be sold on the open market.
The only proviso that councillors made when they agreed this was that specialist auctioneers should be used.
If they’ve now decided that they want to ensure public access and responsible management in the future, I don’t know exactly how they’d go about this.
Could they put a covenant on the land?
Could they only allow certain bodies to bid by sealed tender?
Or could they decide that actually they don’t want to sell it on the open market any more and instead just do a deal with a body like the National Trust?
They’re proposing to offer Bridport’s oldest secular building – The Chantry in South Street – to the Vivat Trust, which currently leases it. (There’s pieces elsewhere on this site about how The Chantry probably used to be a primitive lighthouse).
I wonder if Eype Beach will be put into a restricted sale category? But then, if part of the aim is to raise money, is an opportunity being missed?

I think everyone has got it wrong the beach is not for sale at the moment.
IF it were to be sold in the future public access would still be allowed and whoever bought it would have to manage it responsibly.
The £1 is only the worth to the council on their assets list.
Joan

Put me on e-bay and see how much I raise!

* Access to general public must be preserved,
* Listed as part of Jurassic Coast, development restrictions probably apply.
* Good for walking and, um, other beach associated activities.

It’s the same everywhere. Councils spending £millions on new offices then selling off property which once gone no longer generates income.
The land beneath our feet DOES NOT belong to the councils, they only look after it for the people of this country to enjoy from time to time

Depending on liabilities and legalities I’ll start the sensible bidding at £1,000.

Chris, er no – this messageboard is certainly not the official bidding process. The proposed sale of Eype Beach was simply something that I noticed and thought worth reporting, as nobody else had.

There’s been talk elsewhere (on Twitter and on Facebook) about the National Trust perhaps buying it. The Trust owns lots of other land between Bridport and Lyme Regis. I’d be very surprised if West Dorset Leisure Holidays, who run the caravan park at Highland’s End in Eype, weren’t also interested.

I don’t know how exactly the sale is going to be managed. It may be that the council doesn’t, yet.

At least one other holding in Bridport is going to be auctioned next month. I’m going to post something about that in the morning.

Thank you to everyone who has commented so far. I’ve enjoyed reading your thoughts – and bids!