A CAMPAIGN has been launched to stop a picturesque Newquay headland from becoming a gated housing community.

Keep Cornwall’s Coast Open has been started after work got underway to demolish part of the Glendorgal Hotel in Lusty Glaze Road and construct 13 units on the site including apartments, townhouses, semi-detached properties and duplex houses.

The access from Porth Beach has been boarded up and Seamus Redmond, the director of Blue Chip Hotel Ltd, stated on social media that it is private land and that people who have walked there in the past have been trespassing.

But residents believe they have every right to walk in the area as they have done for generations, arguing a historical public right of way is in place.

They are appealing to Cornwall Council and the Ramblers Association for clarification as to whether this is the case and if obstructing the entrance is lawful.

Residents say that if a public right of way is not in place, then they will apply for a definitive map modification order, arguing there has been unobstructed use for more than 20 years.

Matt Kennedy Smith said: “The access that has been blocked is the historic stone steps that descend from the Glendorgal headland down to Porth Beach.

“A timber barrier appears to have been installed very recently, completely obstructing the route between the headland and the beach.

“The reason many local people are concerned is because this route has been openly used by residents and visitors for generations.

“I’ve personally used it for nearly 50-years without restriction. historic ordnance survey maps dating back to the 1800s appear to show the route, and later maps explicitly label it as a “Path.”

“For many people this is about more than a single access point.

“It’s about protecting long-established coastal access and local heritage.

“At this stage, I think people mainly want clarity around the legal status of the route and whether the obstruction is lawful. I’ve reported the matter to Cornwall Council and asked for it to be investigated urgently.

“And if not, I will apply to amend the definitive map modification order, so it is in place based on continuous unobstructed use over 20 years

“Speaking to locals who have lived here longer than me, like 65-years plus, they all remember access on to the headland and a footpath round to the steps to the beach.”

Max Carnage added: “I have enjoyed walking on the stretch over the last 55 years or so.

“I never did any harm. I just took in the views, using the steps on the Porth side and the ones on Lusty Glaze side

“I have never been stopped and told I couldn't.

“I, and many others hold the view that there is a historical right of way and currently this is being explored.

“Alternatively if a piece of land has been used over a period of time there are grounds for it to become a right of way.

“To say that there has been no access ever there makes no sense.”