Therefore the challenge is to stop as much of the sand as possible before it gets on to the road. This is normally done by use of brush fencing, old fashioned split chestnut & wire fencing, etc to create sheltered compartments where thesand can drop. Planting dune grasses helps to ‘fix’ the dunes more quickly than leaving them to nature although they are a fragile habitat at the best of times.

The report referred to above suggested testing the idea at the bottom of Beach Road and the beach from there towards The King’s Gap since these areas are where the sand has accumulated highest. When I was a kid we had to climb up the nearly 6 foot wall at the bottom of Curzon Road but now you literally step off it onto sand.

Once established they’d gradually migrate seaward until a natural equilibrium was reached and they would have a nice sandy beach along their length.

It’s hard to see the council being willing to clear up everytime it happens though I’m not sure what the best solution is. If dunes are the solution then do they have to start off as man-made?

There was another report, this one on windblown sand and habitat change not Spartina, on the Wirral MBC website. The windblown sand report is no longer there but there is a long summary here http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/670/content_0001005.html . However, it conveniently omits the detailed recommendation for a trial to promote natural dune development which was apparently rejected by the council.

Anyone know more?

I would really not like Hoylake too look like Parkgate but I think it is now unlikely. As we all know Hoylake is built on sand dunes and I now think the best and only sustainable answer is probably to let sand dunes develop as would happen naturally. The beach would gradually move seaward just like it has near Red Rocks as dunes develop on the thin strip of marsh grass there.

I think the conditions at Hoylake with an open sea rather than estuary location with its huge sand deposits mean that it is quite different from Parkgate which is well up the estuary, siltier and less windy and of course Parkgate suffered more directly from the artificial shift of the Dee from the English to the Welsh shore.

The Hoylake beach levels are now so high and the silty channel in front of North Parade which provided the greatest saltmarsh potential has all but gone so the sand is coming and I don’t see that it is stoppable! I wonder how often does the tide make it all the way to the sea wall between Beach Road and the old baths site these days? It can’t be that often with such raised beach levels. Dunes are a wonderfully attractive habitat and would be a lovely reversion to how Hoylake would be naturally and provide a line of natural “soft” sea defences and a great place for recreation and wildlife with a beach in front of it.

Those are my thoughts anyway. I think some radical thinking and a well informed public debate would be a good thing. What do others think?

Does anyone know what happened to that consultancy report for the Council a few years ago?

(Also “hello” to Jackie Hall, it’s been a long time!)