The proposal announced by Devon County Council to close Queens Drive Exmouth from Foxholes car park to Orcombe Point from 7am to 7pm for the summer months is a poorly thought out idea in the extreme.
To have, what is for many, one of prime attractions of coming to Exmouth beach, closed for 12 hours a day, 7 months of the year, will undoubtedly cost the town much needed revenue, and devastate many users of the sea front and beach. The stretch of road to Orcombe point, is fairly unique in Devon, in that you are able to park up, and relax to enjoy the view over the beach and sea, or just hop straight onto the beach without having to walk for miles carrying all the stuff you want for a day on the beach. The thousands of people that enjoy this stretch of the beach and it's wonderfully unique and convenient parking are to be penalised for a small minority of thoughtless 'boy racers' who speed up and down the sea front.
How many visitors will not bother coming back to Exmouth, or Sandy Bay, when they realise that they can no longer park next to the beach? Elderly, disabled, dog walkers & families with children all delight in being able to park and admire the view and get onto the beach with out having to walk miles carrying beach equipment, and pushing pushchairs. Elderly and disabled people can take a short stroll from their cars and back again. Dog walkers would have to walk a good half mile just to get to the stretch of beach where they are allowed to exercise their dogs. Horse owners would not be able to take their horses onto the beach easily, which I love to see, and users of jet skis, canoes and other water craft would have problems accessing the beach. All general users of the beach would be denied easy access to this unique part of Exmouth seafront, due to the actions of a small minority.
I often meet up family and friends on Queens Drive, with many of them coming from all over Devon and Somerset to make use of this lovely part of the sea front, and then to visit the town centre to shop or eat and drink. I often park up to enjoy the view on Queens Drive in my camper van, and I speak to many visitors to the area who all think that Exmouth and its beach is a wonderful place to visit. They would not be so keen to come back if these draconian measures are enforced, with the resulting loss of revenue to many businesses in the town, and revenue from parking. In the summer months parking is very difficult at the best of times. If cars were unable to access Queens Drive, parking would become nearly impossible, deterring even more law abiding citizens from visiting the beach and town, and causing even worse traffic snarl ups along the sea front, which would not improve anyone’s safety.
I am furious that, as a resident, I will not be able to use one of the areas of the town that I use on a very regular basis. I pay a huge amount for my Council Tax, of which a large amount goes to fund the Policing of the area, and I expect the Police and Devon County Council to manage the problem of boy racers without penalising me and all other Exmothians by creating a 'no-go' area. The problem of these speeding cars has improved somewhat since the introduction of the speed humps, chicanes and narrowed points in the road. Surely more traffic calming measures, such as a 20mph speed limit and speed cameras would be more practical and effective than closing off a huge area of the sea front to all users?
Queens Drive has been enjoyed by generations of residents and visitors alike for many, many years, it is part of Exmouth’s history and attraction, to close it to vehicular traffic would be a disaster for the town, to residents and visitors alike. I implore the Police and Devon County Council to reject this unworkable proposal, and seek alternative measures for everyone’s sake.
Well Burbs, I do agree with you in principle but haven't you got your am's and pm's mixed up? I thought Queens drive was to be closed in the evening?
I particularly agree with the use of unmarked Police cars. Why ever not for goodness sake, they are used on motorways, covert capture cars are even used in car parks, so why not use them to catch and then proscute these pests who use Exmouth sea front as a race track.
Graham Seymour
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