It’s good that councillor Birtwistle is getting involved in Castle Cove beach, but there are a few errors in his letter that concerned me.

First, his statement that his contact details are a matter of public record but that he has never heard a ‘dickybird’ from the Friends of Castle Cove beach.

We wrote to John on July 17, 2014 and August 19, 2014, and we have a reply from him on our files.

We have regularly updated other councillors, whom we thought were interested in the issue. If John would like to join our mailing list, we’d be happy to add him.

Second, that we should be fundraising to replace the steps – we have offered to take over the footpath and steps and do precisely that, but have been told by councillors this is not possible.

Third, that this is a matter of maintaining ‘private access to a private beach’. We have been pointing out since October that Castle Cove is not merely a private beach – it’s the first beach in the country that has been guaranteed public access by Act of Parliament. This beach is a public asset that councillors should be maintaining.

Fourth, that we limit our efforts to ‘trumpeting our demands in the Echo’ – we are scrupulous in using the established channels of communication.

Only last week we wrote to the leaders of all three political groups on Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, reminding them that the moratorium on discussing Castle Cove has now expired, and asking them to discuss the beach in council again. None of them, unfortunately, has yet replied.

Steve Elsworth Chairman of the Friends of Castle Cove Beach