Hotel serves notice — keep off private property

Lines have been drawn in the sand in a heated row over beach tennis.

At issue is the right to use a stretch of beach sandwiched between the Elbow Beach Hotel and the Coral Beach Club.

Elbow Beach Hotel boss Edward Shapard says private property is being used while tennis organizer Tony Brannon argues it’s public.

Players called ‘fault’ after the hotel tractor ran over court markers left out overnight last weekend.

Mr Brannon vowed to have a head-to-head tonight and turn up with fellow players at their regular spot — but a last-minute offer from the next-door Coral Beach Club to use its stretch of beach appears to have headed off a confrontation.

Mr Brannon said: “We always set up right in front of the Tribe Road, slightly to the left. In Bermuda, every beach is accessible to the public to the high water mark. It’s about being reasonable and he [Mr Shapard] is being totally unreasonable. I’m not going to have somebody tell me that I don’t have access to a public beach up to the high water mark.”

An e-mail from Mr Shapard to Mr Brannon after the fabric court lines were torn up by the hotel’s beach-raking tractor said the incident was “unintentional”.

But Mr Shapard, general manager at the Mandarin Oriental-managed resort, added that advertising for Mr Brannon’s beach tennis events, as well as a “dramatic increase” in cruise ship passenger numbers, mean that “it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain this space”.

He wrote to Mr Brannon: “Elbow Beach maintains a space close to the Tribe Road that it considered ‘public’ and makes no effort to restrict access, in the spirit of promoting tourism in Bermuda and local goodwill.

“It should be noted, however, that the space you have used is not public property, nor is it managed by Parks and Recreation, like true public beach parks in Bermuda.”

Mr Shapard added that “any items left on our beach are subject to removal” and warned that any use of the stretch of beach would need a contract.

But the email added: “I must tell you, though, we are not interested in such an arrangement at this time. I would ask that you respect our wishes and will provide you with more formal notification in due course.”

But Mr Brannon hit back: “The public is only allowed access to a 30-yard stretch of beach — that’s his claim.

“We are providing a great sport for locals and something for tourists which attracts people to Bermuda to play in an international tournament. Then this guy — who hasn’t been in Bermuda too long — comes along and starts throwing his weight around.”

Mr Brannon said that beach tennis players regularly cleared trash, including bottles, cans, plastic bags and fire debris, from the stretch of beach they used.

He added he would be taking up the offer from Coral Beach, avoiding a further row with Mr Shapard.

Brannon described Mr Shapard’s stance as “outrageous”, adding: “Bermuda beach tennis has been playing a couple of times a week for the past three or four years there.”

A spokeswoman for Mr Shapard yesterday declined to answer questions on the beach tennis row.

She said: “I am not able to comment — it’s a personal matter between Mr Brannon and Mr Shapard.”

But in response to an email from the Bermuda Sun, Mr Shapard wrote that the hotel had “no formal relationship” or agreement with Mr Brannon.

He added: “Beach tennis has been played on a small stretch of beach adjacent to the Tribe Road entrance for some time now and we see no reason why that should not continue as a local recreational activity.