Tobacco Bay beach should not have been closed to the public at the weekend, the public works minister said yesterday.

Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch explained Beach Boys Ltd, who run the concession at the St George’s beach, were given a permit to host an event on Sunday.

But he said: “At no time did the parks department grant exclusive rights to the beach.

“In fact, at the top of the second page of the application it clearly states: ‘Special Event Permits do not give exclusive rights to a particular spot; they merely grant permission to have an organised event’.”

Colonel Burch said the permit was intended to cover a private function “on a number of days”.

He added: “As a result of this violation of the policies of the special permit along with the public outcry, the parks department have rescinded the permit, effective immediately.

“The parks team will be meeting with representatives of the operators to make it clear that closing the beach to members of the public is not allowed under their terms of lease.”

Mikaela Pearman, who tried to go to the beach on Sunday, was frustrated by the lack of notice but felt the event could bring the island positive attention.

She said: “The situation could’ve been mitigated had the information been shared ahead of time.

“The beach could’ve had a sign out front or someone to let people know it was closed — a sign was put out front later on.

“It wasn’t a big deal to me as the event was great exposure for Bermuda. It was just a bit frustrating in the moment.”