Local MP Rebecca Smith has been pressing the council for answers; arguing the closure is having a significant impact on sea swimmers, watersports users, businesses and the wider community.
More than 140 people attended a public meeting about the issue, while a petition has been handed to Parliament calling for urgent action to reopen the beach.
The Conservative MP for South West Devon questioned why the problem had still not been resolved more than six years after asbestos was first discovered.
“You can’t be the National Marine Park on one side of the peninsula and have a closed beach on the other side of the peninsula,” she said.
“I will find it incredibly difficult to stand up in Parliament and talk about the National Marine Park if that beach remains closed.”
Smith said the city council had a strong record of securing external funding for major projects and argued it should use those same skills to find the resources needed to resolve the beach closure.
“There’s a will, there’s a way,” she said. “They need to be using that track record and that skill set to get whatever it takes to sort this beach out.”
Nearby businesses are beginning to feel the strain as well.
The Bridge restaurant closed in September, citing the beach closure as a significant factor affecting trade.
For now, Mount Batten’s future remains unclear.
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