With concerns about erosion causing hazardous conditions near Burns Beach on Lake Erie, Chatham-Kent council will decide whether to close access to the popular beach at their council meeting in Chatham tonight.
Access to Burns Beach, near Dealtown, is through the south part of the municipally-owned Dillon Road, a steep gravel laneway that leads down the bluff to the beach. In recent years, record-high Lake Erie levels have contributed to accelerated erosion of the Lake Erie bluff face making access to the beach hazardous to the public. In addition, the beach area has almost entirely disappeared.
Chatham-Kent legal staff determined a couple years ago that the beach wasn’t municipal property. It’s owned by the province which means Chatham-Kent does not have any ownership interest or other legal right to grant access to or make use of this property as a municipal public beach for the public.
