It’s a popular refuge for those looking to walk off the Christmas excess, but now a Norfolk seaside village says it is groaning under the weight of its own popularity.
Hundreds of people drawn to Winterton by seals and seaside walks are creating a chaos of congestion in busy Beach Road.
A Facebook group which promotes the pretty village famous for its dunes and scenic, sedate walks has urged drivers to obey the ‘no parking’ police cones and pay for a space in the car park by the Dunes Cafe.
On Boxing Day a string of cars was seen parked along the north side creating a bottleneck and leading to worries about access for emergency vehicles.
Eric Lund, chairman of Winterton Parish Council, said moves were afoot to ban parking all year round with consultation notices going up on January 4.
He said he had been working for some two years to bring about the changes to solve the problem along the narrow stretch where one year an ambulance took 25 minutes to reach a casualty at the cafe.
Although the car park had lost around 30 spaces to erosion it was rarely full but the poor parking of some drivers meant that even those who wanted to use it could not get near enough.
“A lot of the cars that park along there are not old bangers and the chances are they could get damaged,” he added.
Current restrictions forbid parking from March to September.
Peter Ansell, chairman of the Friends of Horsey Seals group, pleaded with people to show some common sense and courtesy to local folk.
He said with so many seals, including some 300 at Winterton dotted all over the beach and dunes, both the animals and people were difficult to manage.
Most of the time people were trying to avoid the charge, he said, but in doing so would most likely find themselves grid-locked with cars trying to enter and leave at the same time.
“You have got to be brain dead to park there,” he said. “You might think you are smart not paying the money. But when you come out you have to turn at the top. Just use a bit of common sense when you come to park and make everybody’s life a bit easier.”
Meanwhile, people taken to social media to have their say with some tagging it “mayhem.”
Helen Kippen said: The cones are as about much use as a chocolate fireguard, people have no respect for our beautiful village and are too tight to pay a few quid to park.
“Be glad when the holidays are over and we can have our village back and the green welly brigade have gone back to their homes with drives for several 4x4s.”
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