Shuttle bus considered for easing summer traffic congestion on Northumberland coast

It was among the suggestions made at a joint meeting of Beadnell, Embleton, Newton-by-the-Sea and Craster parish councils.

They are keen to avoid a repeat of scenes last summer when the high volume of staycation visitors caused chaos at peak periods.

Cllr Alison Nation, chairman of Beadnell Parish Council, said: “The idea of the shuttle bus is to reduce parking. These buses would go to areas where most people end up driving and trying to park.

“For us it might be a small bus that takes people to the beach car park. For other areas, for example, at Low Newton, it might go a little bit further down the line or provide a service between the car park and beach which is quite far away.

"This is very early stages just to see if there is any merit. We’ll then see if the parish councils feel there is common ground to move forward.”

The group also discussed the idea of a general manager with responsibility for the area. Beadnell Parish Council has approached Northumberland County Council about it.

Cllr Jen Hall, vice chairman, also revealed that park and ride was one of the suggestions included in a recent questionnaire to find out what residents felt could improve the area.

The parish council is also keen to find out if the developer of the proposed beachside café developer would open his site for car parking by Easter.

Members were told that improvement works had started at the beach car park and Cllr Guy Renner-Thompson revealed that the one-hour free parking will stay in place.

Beadnell councillors have also requested a reduction in the speed limit on the whole of Swinhoe Road to 30pmh, for the 40mph on the B1340 to be extended to the Swinhoe crossroads and for the speed limit on the corner at Beadnell village be reduced to 30mph due to the number of people crossing the road from the nearby campsite. A request for priority signage at two narrow bridges will also be made.

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