Council split amid claim that six-figure beach cleaning equipment 'may just be left to rust'
DUP accused of forcing through damaging and expensive beach cleaning equipment on coasts v.1
The DUP are trying to push through a “costly” and “damaging” mechanical cleaning regime on coastlines along North Down and the Ards peninsula that will prettify beaches and sand dunes to the cost of local biodiversity, opponents are claiming.
Ards and North Down Borough Council is split in an environmental row concerning mechanical beach cleaning, with the DUP on one side of the debate, and all the other parties on the other.
Council officials gave recommendation at the October meeting of the council’s Environment Committee not to procure new mechanical beach cleaning equipment, but DUP Alderman Robert Adair led the charge to reject this aspect of the officers’ recommendations.
Council officers estimated an initial capital cost of approximately £125,000 for a mobile machinery wash-down unit and a mechanical beach cleaner. They said “no approved Parks and Cemeteries capital or revenue budget is currently available for this work.”
They recommended “in light of the regulatory, ecological and financial evidence, not to progress the proposed purchase of a mobile biosecurity wash-down unit and mechanical beach-cleaning equipment at this time.”
They further recommended councillors “endorse a phased, nature-based management approach for the surveyed sites, subject to site-specific assessment, approvals and available budgets, including appropriate conservation, access management, community engagement and monitoring measures.”
Officers said: “The proposed beach cleaning and seaweed removal works are likely to require careful assessment because all four locations identified: Millisle, Cloughey, Seapark (Holywood) and Portavogie, are within or affected by sensitive coastal, marine or bird designations. The main legislative controls are likely to include marine licensing, protected site assent, habitats regulations assessment, wildlife protection and waste/disposal controls.”
Council officers met the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, an executive agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs at Stormont earlier this year to discuss mechanical beach cleaning, including the proposed removal of natural seaweed and strandline material.
NIEA said that the environmental designations and site-specific conservation objectives applying to the Ards and North Down coastline would make approval difficult and, where any activity was capable of being approved, it would be subject to significant restrictions and mitigation.
Despite these barriers, DUP Alderman Robert Adair has maintained a drive at the council to create a mobile beach cleaning station and acquire the relevant machinery, and proposed a successful motion in December 2025 that the council agrees “in principle” to purchase the equipment.He says that residents and tourists alike frequently raise concerns relating to cleanliness, maintenance and environmental protection of beaches in the borough.
At the October meeting of the Environment Committee he said the council “made a democratic decision” to buy and use mechanical equipment.
He added: “What we are asking for is not something new. It was best practice with the council for many many years, and we did it on a proportionate basis, being careful during the nesting season, and caring for our natural environment.
“Causeway Coast and Glens use mechanical equipment, and are adapted to the rules and regulations. What do we do as a council? Nothing, and let the beaches fall to wrack and ruin.” He proposed the council move forward with purchasing new mechanical beach cleaning equipment.
UUP Councillor Peter Wray said at the meeting: “There is more that we can do, but this is potentially going too far. One of my concerns is that, while the equipment might be worth the money, we wouldn’t be able to use it in this and that place because of certain regulations, and could only use it at certain times.” He proposed bringing in independent experts to further debate the matter.
Alliance Alderman Lorna McAlpine said: “I have concerns that this equipment, which will cost much more than the £125,000 that has been talked about, could turn out to be something which has very limited use. We might have to ask for permission to use it, and we might find that it sits there and rusts away, and doesn’t really do the job we are talking about.
“We need to think of other ways of doing what we need done. Making sure the beaches can be as good as they possibly can be for the people coming to visit, but without damaging the environment, which we are all custodians of.”
Independent Councillor Tom Brady said: “Vegetation on our beaches is an essential defence against erosion. We talk about the dangers of coastal erosion, and Alderman Adair talks about building up sand dunes, while in the next breath proposing something that would exacerbate the problem.”
Green Party Councillor Lauren Kendall said: “I think the cost is really significant. As we move into winter, I hear from community groups and charities that they are going to be struggling to help people with their heating and eating, and then I am told we will be spending £125K on a beach cleaner.
“Aside from a variety of environmental reasons on which I oppose this, I cannot justify that kind of spending.”
On a vote at the Environment Committee, six voted in favour of the DUP proposal to go ahead in purchasing the beach cleaning equipment, all from the DUP, and six voted against, from Alliance, the UUP the Greens and one Independent. The committee Chair, DUP Councillor Alastair Cathcart, had the casting vote, and voted in favour of the DUP proposal. Several Alliance councillors and an SDLP councillor were absent from the meeting.
The decision will go to the full council later this month for ratification, where it could be undone in a full chamber, if parties maintain their line.
Pic from Ards and North Down Borough Council, permitted use for all
Cation by Michael Kenwood: Cloughey Beach
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