Lyme Regis beach huts could stay for another five years
The huts on Monmouth Beach are due to be removed in March
Beach huts on the Monmouth Beach in Lyme Regis are likely to get at least another five years use.
Under an initial planning agreement the huts had to be removed by March 4th this year.
Lyme Regis Town Council is now asking for another five-year agreement, arguing that there is minimal risks to the huts from land movements, the reason for the temporary consent to begin with.
The chalets and most of the day huts are located on the shingle beach in front of the of the coastal slope with a few of the day huts at the extreme western end on the foot of the slope.
In an application to Dorset Council the town council says that the slope, immediately to the rear of the chalets is known to be prone to landslip movement:
“As such, the planning permission for the chalets and day huts was granted on a time dependent basis to enable future review of instability risks and appearance.
"Such work forms part of the Town Council’s continuing strategy of managing ground movements as far as reasonably practicable.”
An assessment report from Chapman Geotechnical, in support of another five years use, says there continues to be regular monitoring of the area using ground markers in place since 2010.
Said the report to Dorset Council: “Since the last planning permission renewal, the ground movement monitoring has continued to show some long-term minor movement of the slope immediately behind the toe load bund. Measured lateral displacements of surface monitoring points over the past four winters, has totalled between 24mm and 150mm for the four-year period.
"This is not significant in terms of the rate and amount of movement that could be considered a threat to the chalets.
“No significant visible change to the front face of the mound itself has been noted. It is, therefore, concluded that the chalets, sited on the beach, are not particularly at risk of ground instability. The base of the coastal slope and new monitoring points on the recently raised toe loading bund, will be continued to be monitored as part of the monitoring of the overall site and appropriate action taken should movements exceed agreed trigger levels."