Ainsdale beach car park Southport to be made Pay and Display

Green Sefton who manages and protects the Sefton Coast including Ainsdale Beach has a vision for Ainsdale Gateway to offer a better visitor experience and facilities to increase the length and frequency of stay and to support the creation of jobs and investment in the site. While at the same time protecting the important ecology of the site and SSSI. This follows a recent Town Deal public consultation that supports this vision at Ainsdale.

2020/21 has been a big year for Ainsdale Beach and the Sefton coast as a destination, especially during the Covid-19 outbreak which saw a massive influx in visitors. To cope with these additional visitors portable temporary toilets and skips were provided to deal with the extra numbers in summer 2020 and 2021. Over the last 6 years on average in a summer season we have seen 19,500 visitors paying to park on the beach car park (1st April to 30th September) in comparison from the 1st April to the 15th August 2021 we have seen over 25,800 to date.

 This proposal helps Green Sefton to better manage visitors and their impact on the area. This vision was supported by a capital investment bid approved by Sefton Council for the Ainsdale Gateway in 2020/21 to provide improved facilities for visitors that are growing year on year especially due to the impact of travel restrictions and lockdown on residents holiday and travel habits due to Covid-19.

Car Parking – Improvements 

We propose to offer the following improved facilities (subject to planning/ approval from Natural England/ and funding):  Improved charged off beach parking for circa 249 cars – located behind the dunes next to Ainsdale Discovery Centre and in front of Toad Hall outside of the SSSI boundary as per the attached plan. 

The site of the improved car parking includes land already been used for car parking next to the Discovery Centre and a grassed over flow parking area. We also propose to move an existing fenced wooden bin store that sits in the centre of the site to a new dedicated wooden fenced area near to the gable end of Toad Hall and the fishing compound closer to the existing Green Sefton operational depot. 

 The car park will be open all year round and operated by three solar powered pay and display machines. This will provide extra parking spaces year round but most importantly for visitors during peak periods and during times when the beach parking is not in operational or limited due to the time of year (on-beach car parking is closed – 1st October to 31st March), poor weather or high tides.

 This will also provide additional income that can assist in funding more Green Sefton Rangers and infrastructure/ ecological improvements across the entire Sefton Coast. Site improvements include new disabled parking spaces, motorcycle parking, active travel improvements for pedestrians and cyclists, footpaths, covered bike storage for 28 bikes and EV charging points for up to 10 spaces. 

The initial recommendation for EV charging would be for 4 bays until sufficient demand is needed for more points.  The general car park bays are proposed to be Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) compliant using permeable paving with tarmac car park access lanes, disabled bays and EV charging bays. 

With traffic calming speed bumps, access barriers, new boundary fencing to the rear  and front and additional litter bins. There will also be extended traffic restriction yellow lines along the length of the promenade and Shore Road to maintain traffic flow to the car park and improved pedestrian and traffic signs. 

 The area next to the existing Green Sefton run Ainsdale Discovery Centre will be reconfigured to create a new wider access to the existing staff car parking area and establish an improved cattle access area onto the SSSI used seasonally in the winter to support the grazing of rare breed cattle on the dunes system. This will create a safer area for the cattle when they are being moved and supports our desire to use conservation grazing to improve the local dune habitat as they eat coarse grass and young scrub creating more space for rare and endangered plants and flowers and helps Natterjack Toads to thrive 

The new car parking will generate a new income to Green Sefton that would cover all operational and revenue costs for the project. Mitigation will be provided as part of the consent for such works to go ahead, and these have been allowed for in the costs also (specifically improved fencing to guide visitor movements safely through the dunes to the beach, information signs to educate visitors, and additional site presence to engage with visitors and encourage appropriate behaviour).

 It is proposed that up to 4 additional Ranger posts will be created to help mitigate the impact of visitors to the site and coast. The improved car parking will also relieve pressure on local residents as they currently have major issues with visitors parking on residential streets and causing obstructions during peak periods due to insufficient parking for the beach and coastal area at Ainsdale.

 It is projected that any surplus income over the coming years will be re-invested in improving on site facilities further and support the creation of addition seasonal rangers on the coast as a whole – addressing frequent queries and complaints about a lack of visible staffing able to cope with visitor pressure, encourage responsible behaviour, deal with litter etc.