National Trust is accused of turning beach beloved by Enid Blyton into ‘eyesore’ after removal of sea defences exposed old rubbish tip

The National Trust has been accused of turning a picturesque beach in Dorset into a ‘horrible eyesore’ after its decision to remove sea defenses exposed a former rubbish dump.

Engineers removed the defenses at Middle Beach in Studland last September to ‘let nature take its course’.

The beach was loved by Enid Blyton and was the inspiration for Toytown in Studland, Noddy.

The conservation authority’s controversial decision was part of a ‘managed retreat’ policy aimed at allowing water to reclaim the land.

But this movement accelerated coastal erosion and exposed the pile of garbage buried in the sand behind the beach.

As a result, tons of garbage were washed onto the beach, including deadly layers of asbestos that could pose a risk to environmental health.

Erosion also revealed a Victorian toilet block filled to the brim with decades-old plastic, glass and rusted metal.

National Trust volunteers carry out daily clean-up operations to reduce the amount of residual waste.

After the National Trust removed the sea defences, water eroded the beach, revealing a former rubbish dump.

Workers are seen on the beach removing sea defenses to allow nature to ‘take its course’

The trust demolished Britain’s oldest seaside cafe, atop a small cliff, in 2023 despite overwhelming opposition to the move.

Even though the building was set back 60 ft from the edge, the organization claimed that the building was at risk of falling into the sea and should therefore be razed.

Nick Boulter, chairman of Studland Parish Council, said: ‘It’s appalling. All this waste dumped on the beach for the last 50 to 100 years is coming out of the cliff and it’s dazzling.

‘I heard poor National Trust volunteers fill 10 bags of plastic waste there every day.

‘We told them they could replace the gabions for £100,000 to £200,000.

‘We warned them that if they didn’t this nonsense would pop up again.

‘Now, when you go to the beach, there are warning signs saying ‘dangerous’.

‘The worrying thing is that we haven’t had a bad storm yet, so it could be a lot worse.’

Tons of rubbish washed onto the beach, including lethal asbestos sheets that could pose an environmental health risk

This policy accelerated coastal erosion and uncovered an ancient garbage dump buried in the beach

Local resident and civil engineer Andrew Parsons said: ‘This is absolutely appalling. I don’t know what their agenda is. That’s not what they should be doing.

‘If it were a construction site and this waste was uncovered, Environmental Health would fall on them like a ton of bricks.

‘The National Trust is doing the stupid thing of returning buildings like the old cafe to nature when they should be protecting them.

‘Everyone could have seen this coming and they showed an incredible lack of foresight.

‘Maritime defenses could have stopped this from happening for decades.

‘This is what people pay their National Trust subscriptions for.’

The sight of the beach covered in old garbage sparked outrage among citizens on social media.

Phil Morgan said: ‘All the plastic cement debris is now flowing into the sea.’

Old building bricks, tiles and an exposed pipe are seen on the beach after being eroded by the sea

The decision was part of a ‘managed retreat’ policy aimed at allowing water to reclaim the land.

Lynda Essex said: ‘Most places are strengthening their beach defences. Why were these removed? I hope the NT does a quick clean up job before the sea carries all this rubbish away.’

Helen Gulliford said: ‘Why did the NT allow this, thinking they had to protect Studland?’

The National Trust said marine defenses such as gabion baskets may not be effective against rising tides and could collapse, posing a risk to the public.

Sarah Coggins, the National Trust’s coastal and marine advisor, previously said: ‘Holding the cliff in place with a rigid structure such as gabion baskets means the coastline is not naturally flush with the shore.

‘Removing the artificial structures will allow the beach to regenerate itself using sandy material from the cliff.

‘It is anticipated that over time this will result in a sandy bay with more beaches for people to enjoy.

‘The impacts may seem extreme at first, but predictions suggest that over the next 20 years the cliff will realign to a gentler slope.’

The National Trust said they closed Middle Beach for safety reasons while the clean-up continued.

Bricks of Victorian toilet block unearthed by erosion from the sea

A noticeboard at Middle Beach imagines what it might look like after removing sea defenses

Tracey Churcher, Purbeck’s National Trust chief executive, said: ‘We had a specialist contractor remove some asbestos sheeting at the beginning of the process and we continue to undertake daily cleaning of the beach to remove litter.

‘The plan is to assess the situation after the winter storms are over – let winter do its thing – and then see what more we need to remove the debris and what can remain safely.

‘In the meantime, we are keeping Middle Beach closed for security reasons.

‘There are unexpected things like sharp glass and jagged pieces of rusty metal exposed due to erosion.

‘We don’t want anyone, including children and dogs, to hurt themselves.’

Asked about the potential environmental health hazard, a Dorset Council spokesman said: ‘This is on private land owned by the National Trust, so you would need to speak to them in the first instance.’