LOCALS are determined not to let Garrylucas Beach become a permanent caravan park, a meeting heard last week.

The thorny issue of caravans parking for long periods of time at the popular beach was raised at a meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District, where councillors were told that two caravans which had been there for a while have now moved on.

Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) said that now that the caravans are gone, Cork County Council ‘needs to drive on’ with byelaws to prevent others from parking up at the roadside for indefinite periods of time.

‘It’s caravans at this stage and not camper vans and we can’t have them here again next year,’ he said.

‘Some locals feel that neither the gardaí or the council are doing anything to prevent these caravans parking up at the beach. They will not let Garrylucas Beach become a permanent caravan park.’

At a previous meeting he said one of the caravans had personal belongings lodged under the side of it and was an ‘unsightly mess’.

He had called on Cork County Council to erect ‘no overnight parking signs’ at Garrylucas Beach as up to 12 caravans were parked up and left there during the summer months.

Cllr Marie O’Sullivan (FG) said one of the caravan owners, who has since moved on, reached out to her about his housing situation.

‘Once you have the conversation with people you can inform them about the process of getting on the housing list. It’s all about touching base with people,’ she said

Municipal District manager Padraig Barrett said they should be looking at Section 70 of the Road Act as the people concerned are committing an offence for parking on a public road.