the fence dividing residents in Sandbanks

“We are being deprived of something that should be free to us,” is a feeling among some local residents of a seaside town divided along a stretch of coast.

Resorts such as Sandbanks in Poole often lie dormant during the winter months, quietly waiting for the summer tourist crowds to descend once again.

But after the fence was built on the beach, A fight broke out among citizens who enjoy the area all year round.

While some residents claim that their right to roam is restricted, others say that the land belongs to them and they can use it as they wish.

As a regular beachgoer, I headed down to hear both sides of the debate dividing the community.

Sandbanks holds a special place in my heart as the place where I first met and where I proposed to my now-wife.

And as I stroll along the promenade on a crisp autumn morning, I am also aware of dozens of other people wandering around in their own world, each with their own special connection to this place.

That’s why the installation of a wooden fence on part of the beach earlier this year caused passions to rise.

“No one owns the sand, it is a natural public right of way,” says Suzanne McGowan, who has lived in Sandbanks since 1992 and walks her dogs in the area every day.

“The boy with me today went down for the first time when he was 12 weeks old and is now 12.5 years old,” she says as she looks at her black labrador.

A stone’s throw from the main beach, we walk down Trail 82, which has a yacht club on one side and residences on the other.

It runs from Panorama Road to the edge of Poole Harbor and locals have used it to access the beach and foreshore for decades.

Luxury homes are lucky enough to have fenced-in backyards that lead down to the beach.

There is now also a sign warning people to stay on the 6-foot-wide path along the beach, adding: “Trespassers will be prosecuted.”

Ms McGowan said she was recently told to leave the area after her dog went beyond the fence onto land the homeowners said belonged to them.

He said he couldn’t return to the site because he felt it was “too scary”.

Fanny Thomas, who is about to turn 80, says she has been walking in this area all her life.

He said that when he walked his dog on the beach late at night recently, a security light came on, a CCTV camera recorded him and a voice echoed from a nearby speaker telling him to “go away”.

Sue Draper has lived in the area since the 1980s and is “angry” about the situation.

“Why should we fence our beach?” he asked.

He added that residents “have been using it all these years and no one has been bothered.”

He explained that when people follow public footpaths they are now forced to congregate on a small patch of sand because there is “nowhere to go”.

Lesley Barratt has been walking there since 2002 and said the quiet area was ideal for walking the dog when the main beach was crowded.

“We don’t sit there and go, we go together and then come back again,” he said.

Sandbanks tops list as Britain’s most expensive seaside location The average house price in the area last year was £965,708.

At the Horseshoe, which is the road leading to the beach in the middle of the row, I am greeted by the front doors of the houses whose gardens open to the sand.

I couldn’t find the owner of the fence when I tried each of the bells on the road, but road resident Nick Sawyer answered the intercom and shared his views.

“This is not a beach as they say, it is actually a shore and it is privately owned,” he said.

He added: “It’s all really out of control and ridiculous.”

Mr. Sawyer told me he doesn’t mind people walking on the beach as long as they are “courteous and respectful.”

“I’m not trying to fight with anyone here, I’m just trying to find an amicable solution,” he said.

Norman Allenby-Smith, chairman of the 650-member Sandbanks Community Group, said he too had been trying to find a civilized solution but had so far been “unsuccessful”.

He said it was intimidation from local residents that forced his group to take action.

“We felt we had to do something about it, it used to be a friendly situation and people didn’t care but now unfortunately it has come to a head,” he said.

The group is now seeking legal advicebecause they are afraid of the effects that leaving such a thing might have.

“This all sets a precedent, and there are other areas that could run into the same kinds of problems if they’re not careful,” he said.

“We must be careful to protect public space everywhere on the peninsula.”

The Crown Estate (TCE) manages around half of the coastline around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is land between the mean high and mean low water mark.

The statement included the following: “The land in question is not owned by TCE and appears to be privately owned.”

A Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council spokesman said: “No planning application is required for the fence as the land is freehold.

“In terms of the beach, I was informed by the officer concerned that this was a private beach and nothing else suggested public access was possible.”

Lewis Winks, campaigner for the national group Right to Roam, is calling for new legislation that will protect public access to the countryside.

He said ownership can be “complex” and the group wants people to be able to access places where people have historically been able to wander, such as the coast, “regardless of ownership of that place.”

“I think one of the problems is that the ownership structures are very complex, and because we don’t have robust legal access rights, we end up with these situations where people can lose really valuable access literally overnight,” he said.