Tendring's beach huts could become more expensive as council looks to change rules
The council is now considering limiting the onward renting of beach huts
Tendring’s iconic beach huts could become more expensive to own as the district council draws up sweeping changes to ensure more people can enjoy the seaside shelters.
Along the Tendring coast there are currently 3,057 beach huts directly under the operation and management of Tendring District Council.
Demand for beach huts remains high despite the current national economic challenges. In 2013 huts were listed in the strategy as changing hands for between £5,000 and £30,000. In 2022 however, the higher end has increased to up to £60,000 and beyond in some cases.
The council is now considering limiting the onward renting of beach huts by issuing a number of new commercial agreements through a transparent tender process and limiting the issue of future beach hut agreements to one per household.
It is is also looking to updating the existing beach hut specification policy so where licence holders have adapted their huts to include extensions, such as patios and verandas which are not covered by the specification, the council could demand their removal.
It wants to consider additional staffing resources to ensure beach hut conditions are adhered to and to take “appropriate enforcement action where necessary”.
But this has raised concerns that the council will be criticised if it is overzealous.
Councillor Ivan Henderson said at cabinet on November 4: “I think we need to be careful when we start using a stick of enforcement on local residents we need to do that with that light touch to start with.
It is also proposed to move from licences to leases, with an implementation date of April 2024. But this may come with higher costs for users. The council has not yet revealed what these cost increases my look like.
The process for setting fees and charges for commercial agreements will be through establishing a market rental following an evaluation by an external property consultant. The proposals are within the council’s powers.
A statement to cabinet said: “It is now suggested that licences are phased out over the next year and are replaced by leases from 1 April 2024. This will include obligations for beach hut design, as set out in the revised specification.
“Leases will also provide those with beach huts on council land with additional security, which they do not currently have with a licence agreement. As beach huts are changing hands for very significant sums of money, it is considered that leases would provide the fairness of additional security, which is not currently available through licence agreements.
“It should be noted however that the annual cost of a lease will be higher than that of a licence fee, to reflect that greater security. This will be made clear during the formal consultation exercise with stakeholders.
“This would not prevent those with agreements being able to sell their lease to a private buyer, as long as their beach hut was fully compliant. The lease would be assignable to a new owner and the originator would need to apply to the council for consent to assure this was compliant.”
The changes in policy are also to include Improving customer service through exploring the feasibility of an improved digital platform for those with beach huts and developing a business plan for developing new beach huts and utilising the additional income for increased resources and seafront investment.
The views of residents, licence holders, beach hut associations and other stakeholders will again be requested through a six-week consultation process after the draft Strategy which was approved by cabinet.
The strategy review will then be brought back to cabinet in February 2023 for final adoption, with consideration to any points raised through the consultation process.