Pembrokeshire: Beach stone amnesty call from councillor

Thousands of pebbles have been removed from the beach in Saundersfoot by local people and visitors over the years, reckons one of the village’s county councillors, Chris Williams.

“I’ve seen people taking them home by the boot-full and the bucket-load to put in their gardens – and let’s face it, we’re probably all guilty of picking up that pretty pebble as a souvenir of the seaside,” he said.

“But we need every pebble we can get in Saundersfoot – there’s a meeting coming up in the village to discuss coastal erosion and rising sea levels, and the way it’s going on, the properties in The Strand will have been claimed by rising sea levels 75 years on."

The pebbles were put in place decades ago to protect the properties on The Strand. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography)

Cllr Williams is now urging anyone who has beach pebbles in their homes and gardens to return them to the shore in Saundersfoot.

“We want The Strand to be there long after we’ve gone, but it won’t be if people keep on taking the stones away,” he said.

“It’s my responsibility to make people aware, so I’m asking everybody – if you’ve got pebbles, just drop them back. We’ll have an amnesty and hopefully get a few back where they belong.”

Counxillor Williams has seen people collecting the beach's pebbles 'by the bucket-load'. (Image: Gareth Davies Photography)

Cllr Williams pointed out that the pebbles at the top of Saundersfoot beach were put there as a sea defence the 1940s, 50s and 60s by the old Narberth Urban District Council, and removing them is actually against the law under the Coastal Protection Act 1949.

Meeting

The upcoming meeting will be between representatives from Pembrokeshire County Council, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, Saundersfoot Community Council and land and property owners, and will discuss further measures that could be taken to protect the seafront properties and businesses along The Strand.

Cllr Williams has now put a reminder out on the Saundersfoot Connect platform, stating: “As a community we have to make people aware that taking pebbles off the beach will have a big impact on the Strand and its properties.

"It may appear trivial and insignificant asking people not to take pebbles from the beach but these help play an effective role in protecting our coasts.”