PARKING at a popular Newlyn spot could be banned unless the problem of fly-tipping is tackled.
Vehicles could be forbidden from entering the public car park at Sandy Cove, which is popular with families setting out on bike trips in the area, because of the rubbish being left there.
The harbour commission, which owns the land, is investigating the cost of installing a barrier at the entrance to the site to deal with waste being dumped by motorists.
Harbour master Andrew Munson said the fly-tipping was mainly trade waste, but the issue was being made worse by people throwing fast food rubbish out of their car windows.
Commissioner Kevin Bennetts said the problem was a "sad reflection on local people, because that rubbish has probably come from within a half-mile radius".
However, as chairman of the harbour operations committee, he expressed regret at having to prohibit parking at the cove.
"A lot of people enjoy parking up there and looking at the view, so I am very sad that we have got to put up a barrier," he said.
"But if they can't be trusted not to dump rubbish, we are going to have to stop everybody."
Elizabeth Stevenson, who also sits on the committee, said the plans would stop families who use the national cycleway from Newlyn to Mousehole. "You see families park at Sandy Cove, pack all the bikes out of the back and they go to Mousehole for fish and chips and ice cream and then back again," she said. "I would hate to stop that."
Fellow commissioner Mike Collier also voiced concerns at a meeting of the commission last week, saying the proposal would affect a large number of people.
Chairman Gilbert McCabe echoed their worries, but acknowledged the parking ban was a necessary evil.
"I don't think any of us like the idea," he said. "But we have to take the unpleasant and unhappy task of putting in a barrier."
The commissioners' meeting heard suggestions that large bins at the site could solve the problem.
However Mr Munson said five bins put up at the trust port's old quay for the Painting Party on the Pier day last month had been thrown in to the sea by vandals.
If a barrier is installed, Sandy Cove will still be accessible on foot and by bike, and there will also be wheelchair access.
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN