Sections of a storm-damaged car park looks set to remain closed for the foreseeable future.
Parts of the site besides Lossiemouth’s West Beach have been cordoned off for safety reasons since the middle of November.
The West Beach car park in Lossie has been damaged due to high waves – with the council fencing the damaged area off. All pictures: Daniel Forsyth.
Lossiemouth Community Development Trust says there is currently no public funding available to fix the car park’s problems which have are being caused by storms and coastal erosion.
Instead, any maintenance will have to be done by Moray Council who lease the site from the Pitgaveny Estate.
Fiona Conti from the Lossiemouth Community Development Trust.
Fiona Conti, the who chairs the development trust, said: “It’s a problem that’s liable to get worse.
“Part of the pavement which runs along the shoreline has been washed out to sea. The upshot is that every high tide the waves are getting in amongst the rocks, rubble and other material that lies underneath the car park tarmac.
“Already more holes are appearing.”
The waves are washing out material that underpins the car park.
More than a third of the car park remains fenced, which equates to about 25 lost parking spaces.
Alan Ellison belongs to Moray SUP club whose paddleboarders meet on Saturday mornings and have their clubhouse beside the car park.
Pointing to wide variety of people who use the site, he said: “As well as ourselves it’s also important for the golf club, for customers of The Beach Hut café, for surfers and for dog walkers.
“It’s very well used by the whole community, especially during the summer, and it also attracts people to Lossiemouth who might not continue to come and spend their money in the town if they have difficulties finding a place to park.”
A Moray Council spokesperson said: “In the interests of public safety, fencing has been installed around the worst affected areas of the car park.
“This has allowed more than 50% of the car park to remain open, including access to the Lossiemouth Beach Hut and accessible parking spaces.
“A range of options to address the weather and sea-related damage are being prepared for consideration, and Moray Council will continue to engage with community groups as these options are developed.”
The damage is getting worse.