RESIDENTS of New Quay will get the chance to have their say on a fresh marine application by a local seafood company next week.

Quay Fresh and Frozen Foods Ltd are seeking a renewal of their licence allowing them to deposit clean, crushed whelk shells off New Quay.

But their plans look certain to encounter opposition from locals, who claim the shells cause injuries to beachwalkers and damage boat engines as well as the carriage of the New Quay lifeboat.

“Basically, we are sick and tired of seeing our beaches plastered with shellfish waste,” one local, who did not wish to be named, told the Cambrian News.

“People feel these sharp shells spoil the beaches for the kids who play there.

“As far as boats are concerned, hulls are being damaged as well as engines too. These shells get absolutely everywhere – including into the carriage of the lifeboat.

“This has been going on for the past 25 years and we just feel that enough is enough.”

Town councillor Julian Evans said the Quay Fresh licence – originally granted back in the mid 1990s – was renewed every three years.

“Over the past nine years the amount of shellwaste tonnage has increased from 1,500 per year to 2,000,” he said.

“There has always been a clause in the licence to find alternative methods of disposal.”

A drop-in session outlining the plans will be held at New Quay Memorial Hall on Thursday, 26 May from 1-6.30pm.

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