WIRRAL Council and government body Natural England have been told work to clear part of West Kirby beach earlier this year may have been illegal by an environmental watchdog.

The Office for Environmental Protection found there was a “failure to comply with environmental law” after a complaint was raised.

In July 2023, Wirral Council was given permission up until 2026 by environmental regulator Natural England to clear an area of vegetation in West Kirby near to the town’s marine lake. However work to clear the beach didn’t take place until May 2024 after further permissions were needed first.

The beach clearance was welcomed by local politicians. Hoylake and West Kirby councillor Andrew Gardner said it was “the first step in returning amenity beaches to West Kirby and Hoylake following the Labour Party’s moment of madness to halt beach management. The engagement we have had with this is off the scale and Natural England need to take note as we progress discussions regarding Hoylake Beach.”

Natural England said they had given permission because their view was that “with appropriate mitigation, small scale recoverable loss of pioneer saltmarsh vegetation would not result in damage” to the environmentally protected Dee Estuary. However it faced heavy criticism from environmental campaigners in West Kirby as well as botanist Joshua Styles who has campaigned on nature restoration in the area.

The Cheshire Wildlife Trust criticised it as “very short sighted” as the vegetation being removed was a nationally rare habitat. They said: “The unnecessary destruction of this pocket of important habitat is a step backwards,” adding: “In the face of both a climate and biodiversity emergency, we cannot afford to ignore this opportunity to do better.”

Mr Styles complained to the Office of Environmental Protection (OEP) that Natural England had failed to comply with environmental regulations when giving advice and permission to Wirral Council. A letter in response said Natural England “may have failed to comply” and the failure was serious.

The OEP said as it was likely vegetation would be removed again in the future, this “would prevent the habitat from regenerating over time” and should have been considered. However the OEP decided not to investigate as the work had already been carried out.

Helen Venn, Chief Regulatory Officer for the OEP, said: “We believe that there has been failure to comply with environmental law in relation to the clearance of saltmarsh habitat at West Kirby beach, part of the Dee Estuary.

“We are not taking forward an investigation into this matter at this time, but we have informed Natural England and Wirral Council of our position and will be monitoring compliance in relation to these matters going forward.”

Wirral Council is currently seeking permission from Natural England to clear up to three hectares of beach in nearby Hoylake and has given assurances it does not plan to carry out anything illegal there. Mr Styles told the LDRS: “If there is any message, it is I would hope that Natural England should seriously be doing their job to act in the best interests of biodiversity and conservation instead of kowtowing to whatever pressure is being put on them whoever it may be from.

“They have had a serious slap on the wrist and I suspect it will influence decisions at Hoylake. The Office for Environmental Protection is seriously concerned about the decision making processes at play.”

A Natural England spokesperson said they were working with the OEP “in its work to review the removal of saltmarsh habitat at West Kirby Beach and we will continue to provide reassurance that environmental law is complied with, now and in the future.”

A Wirral Council spokesperson said the work had been licensed by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and permitted by Natural England, adding: “We will, of course, take time to fully consider the requirements set out in the decision by the Office of Environmental Protection and will respond to them in due course.”