Angry locals said the fence was (Image: Google)
The owner of a seafront Airbnb in has been barred from fencing off part of a popular beach as a “private area”.
The proprietor of Sea Willow, a 16-person “luxury beach house” on Elmer , has been denied permission to redesignate an adjoining section of the beach as a residential garden.
The “five star” property is advertised on as including a “private beach area for total privacy” alongside eight bedrooms with TVs and six ensuites, a cinema room, games room, firepit and hot tub.
A two-night stay in the peak season of July would set holidaymakers back by around £2,500.
The Airbnb owner applied for permission to enclose the section of beach on the grounds that it was under their legal ownership and had historically been used as garden space, indicated by two sets of steps leading to the shingle on the land registry map.
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Elmer Beach is popular with visitors as part of the King Charles III coastal path route (Image: Getty)
But Arun District Council ruled that the post and rope fence, which had already been erected, was “intrusive” and “out of keeping with the area”, and had never been included in the property’s residential curtilage.
Outraged villagers also called for the application to be rejected, arguing that it could set a dangerous precedent for dividing up parts of the seafront and blocking a popular walking route.
One person wrote: “This land has been left open for years.
“The steps shown on the land registry document were just [for] access to the beach.”
“The beach is for everyone to enjoy, not a handful of Airbnb guests,” another added. “They already have an extensive garden to enjoy and fencing off part of the beach will had nothing to their enjoyment but will infringe on the rights of local residents.”
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A third warned the council: “If this is allowed, what is to stop all the other beachfront properties doing the same and robbing the public of their right to walk along a public beach?”
The council’s decision notice pointed to the fence’s “design and position”, which it suggested posed an “unsympathetic intrusion into the beach frontage”.
Officers also cited the barrier’s “visual prominence” which it said detracted from the open appearance of the pretty seaside area.