Summerleaze Sand Recycling & Dune Care Plan (2026–2027) – March 2026 update

25 March 2026

Sand recycling work will be starting at Summerleaze week commencing Monday 30 March 2026

Cornwall Council and Bude & Stratton Town Council are working together on a short‑term programme to manage wind‑blown sand at Summerleaze Beach while strengthening the long‑term health of the dune system.

This work forms part of the Future Coast Bude project and will run from March 2026 to March 2027.

Community consultation about the future of the coast will be taking place during this time and will help shape the long-term plan for the coastline here. For background about this work information can be found here: Summerleaze Sand Recycling & Dune Care Plan (2026–2027) – January 2026 update | Future Coast Bude | Let's Talk Cornwall

What work is happening?

Local contractors JB Groundworks and Utilities will be moving the wind blown-sand off a number of the car parking spaces in Summerleaze car park and moving this sand onto the front of the sand dune.

The work is expected to take around 4 days with work planned to be completed in advance of the Easter weekend.

During this time, machinery will be used to move sand which has blown onto car parking spaces and will be moved through the beach access way to the south of RNLI building. It will then be relocated onto the rock armour (large boulders) which are on the seaward side of the dune. The contractor will work from north to south - placing sand close to the northern access route first, and working southwards along the line of rock armour.

You will see a digger in the car park and a digger on the beach. The southern access route will be fenced off to the public whilst this work is taking place. There will also be parts of the car park that will be fenced off to keep the public safe.

When this work is complete, the contractor will undertake minor works to the RNLI access route to try and reduce the amount of sand blowing onto the car park in the future. Alongside this, work will be undertaken to stabilise the sand in this area, by planting marram grass.

The work is being planned closely with the RNLI and the Bude Dunes Group, and the contract will be managed by Cormac to ensure all health and safety requirements are met. Natural England have also been involved and are supportive of the proposed work.

We remain at mercy of the weather and can’t guarantee exactly how long the reshaped front of the dune will remain looking like it does at completion of the works!

Why is this work happening?

Future Coast Bude are aware of the community's concerns about wind-blown sand on the car park. The project is working with the community to plan for a positive future for the coast in Bude and understands that the sand dunes at Summerleaze are likely to be a key part of the community’s vision for Bude. Sand dunes are not only a protected habitat, they also offer great protection from the waves that come in off the Atlantic. Sand dunes are also a key source of sand that feeds the beach at Summerleaze – making it soft and sandy, compared with Crooklets, which doesn’t have sand dunes.

The project hopes to work with the community to plan for adaptation, but it recognises that until this plan is in place, the pressure on car parking in the town is a concern for local people.

Cornwall Councillor Peter LaBroy said “It is great that the Future Coast Bude project have listened to the concerns of the community and that they have been able to facilitate this work, which buys the community some time to plan properly for a positive future for the coastline of Bude. I would encourage everyone to get involved in the Community Conversation events, which will be being run in the coming months”.

Over the next 12 months, whilst a clear plan for the future is being developed, sand on the car park will continue to be recycled (by moving it to the front of the dune) to ensure it is kept in the sand dunes and offers protection and sediment supply to the beach. As part of the Coastal Vision, a longer-term plan for Summerleaze car park will be developed by the community, which will consider how best to adapt a very man-made environment in the future.