A study vital to deciding the council's policy on a beach which has been compared to a 'football pitch' or 'quagmire' has been delayed.

Since 2019, when Wirral Council decided to stop all management of Hoylake beach after it was strongly criticised for spraying it with glyphosate, the policy of leaving it to nature has been highly controversial.

There are passionately held views on both sides, with some agreeing with the council's policy and others adamant that it is destroying Hoylake beach's 'golden sands'.

Speaking to the LDRS last week, one person said it now resembles a 'football pitch' or 'quagmire', given the amount of grass which has grown on it.

Last year, Wirral Council set up a process which included an independent, expert-led scientific study to see what is really happening on the beach, how it has changed in the past and how it is likely to change in the future with rising sea levels as a result of climate change.

The findings of the Ecology and Geomorphology Study, which took place in August this year, were due to be received around now.

However, the group carrying out the work has told the local authority that, due to a delay in receiving vital data they had requested from an external body, its report will now be delayed.

It is expected to be a short delay, with the report likely to be published at the beginning of January.

Shortly after this date, a public consultation will begin. Wirral Council said this will be based on a framework set by Natural England, existing data and the findings of the study.

The local authority insists that the delay in the publication of the study should not impact on its timetable for delivering a new Beach Management Plan, which it is set to do by April 2023.