A neighbour row has erupted in the Sandbanks area after a 40ft barrier was erected along a row of multimillion-pound homes, accompanied by notices warning against trespassing on what locals say is a "public" beach.
Residents were left furious after the imposing timber fence mysteriously appeared along the northern waterfront side of the neighbourhood in Poole Harbour, Dorset.
The barrier extends from a luxury residential area known as The Horseshoe towards the mean high water line, according to Alan Lester, a retired barrister serving as secretary for the local Sandbanks Community Group.
"Members of the public are put off from using the foreshore. What purpose does it serve? It is to give the impression that the other side of it is private," Mr Lester explained.
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As well as the boundary fence, new signs issue the warning that the area is now a “private beach” and “trespassers will be prosecuted”.
Additionally, topping the barrier of a £3.5million waterfront property are security cameras outfitted with motion sensors.
The identity of those responsible for constructing the barrier remains unknown.
Following the development, the community group has engaged legal counsel following unsuccessful negotiations with property owners about the barrier.
A neighbour row has erupted in the affluent Sandabanks area after a 'public' beach was fenced off
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Norman Allenby Smith, who chairs the community organisation, confirmed that preliminary discussions with homeowners "achieved nothing", prompting formal legal proceedings.
Long-term Sandbanks resident Sue Spencer, 75, described being challenged by a property owner who demanded she vacate the area.
"They say it is a private beach. It is not private. It never has been. They want it to be private, and that is why this fence and these signs have gone up," Ms Spencer explained.
The resident noted that the recent conflict was new to Sandbanks, with previous decades seeing no friction with property owners.
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Signs have also been erected warning that area is now a 'private beach' and 'trespassers will be prosecuted'
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Another local property owner characterised the situation as "a land grab", describing the barrier as "very oppressive" that creates an impression of restricted access.
The Sandbanks Community Group maintains that the contested area falls under public rights due to extensive historical use.
Mr Lester argued that prescriptive rights may have developed through decades of public access to the foreshore beneath the mean high water line.
"We can't spend a lot of money resolving this, but our position is to uphold the Sandbanks neighbourhood plan and protect the preservation of the character and integrity of the peninsula and resist any attempt of encroachment and taking over," he told The Times.
The Sandbanks Community Group has engaged legal counsel following unsuccessful negotiations with property owners about the barrier
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The dispute occurs against a backdrop of recent resident action to restrict overdevelopment, with locals voting last year to limit waterfront construction along Poole Harbour.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council has indicated it will not intervene in what it considers a private matter.
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