Beach in Port Dover still closed as Norfolk politicians, owners continue talks | 24CA News
With plenty of sunshine anticipated this weekend, beachgoers headed to Port Dover will nonetheless solely have a small space of sand within the city they will really use.
No trespassing indicators are nonetheless up alongside sections of the bigger seashore with privately-owned sections off limits to the general public whereas Norfolk County politicians and landowners hammer out a deal to renew public entry.
Much of Port Dover seashore is owned by non-public landowners, with solely a small half really owned by the county from the tip of Walker Street to the water.
Local native restaurateur Peter Knechtel, whose firm F.W. Knechtel Foods Ltd. owns a bit of the seashore in query, instructed Global News giant crowds lately have left rubbish and created legal responsibility issues that he says he doesn’t have the assets to mitigate.
On prime of that, many seashores in southern Ontario aren’t free anymore, lowering their crowds by way of person charges, implementing paid parking and requiring reservations.
“The other parks and the other beaches have put a lot of restrictions in their locations, which we don’t have in ours,” stated Knechtel who additionally owns the close by Callahan’s Beach House.
“So we’re working with the county so that we can we can come up with a plan so that we can open the beach.”
Friday is taken into account an unofficial seashore day in Norfolk, on which teenagers have been identified to ditch college and descend on Port Dover, Turkey Point and Long Point.
Knechtel says whereas they normally don’t see many college students on the Port Dover seashore, he’s been in touch with the OPP and was instructed they’ll be patrolling all three seashores.
In mid-May, Norfolk councillors directed workers to start out negotiating with the non-public house owners on an answer acknowledging the seashore plots are an “important part of our tourism strategy.”
Norfolk County mayor Any Martin says workers are persevering with that dialogue and are anticipated to replace council on their progress throughout a particular council assembly subsequent week.
“We remain optimistic and confident that all issues will be resolved soon,” Martin stated in an e mail.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
