Beach hut owners in Brightlingsea can now have a say on Tendring District Council’s (TDC) proposed new beach hut strategy.
The new strategy follows a review of the existing document, adopted in 2013, and an initial ask for views during the summer on proposed changes to the authority’s approach.
The strategy proposes introducing a commercial agreement allowing owners to rent out their hut for more than ten days per year – provided strict criteria to ensure the safety and neighbourly behaviour of renters are met – and to look at how the council can review adaptations which fall outside of the current specification.
Permitting owners to rent out their hut for up to ten days each year within the standard agreement is a new feature – with rentals not allowed by current licences – which has been introduced after the summer consultation.
An additional change made is to move to an annual lease – instead of a licence – which TDC says will give hut owners a more secure tenancy.
Other aims in the revised strategy include updating the beach hut specification, developing a future-funded business plan to enable additional staffing to support beach huts, improved customer service, and developing new beach huts either for sale or rent by the council.
Alex Porter, TDC’s cabinet member for leisure and tourism, said this first round of listening had led to some changes in the final version of the proposed new strategy.
“The excellent feedback provided during our summer consultation has allowed us to really shape this new proposed strategy for the better, we think making it something positive for those who use the seafront, the council and beach hut licence holders,” he said.
The consultation runs until the end of Sunday, 8 January, 2023 and can be found at www.tendringdc.gov.uk/consultation. Paper copies can be obtained from Clacton town hall, and TDC leisure centres in Clacton, Dovercourt and Walton-on-the-Naze, or by writing to Seafronts, Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton, CO15 1SE.
The council says that existing beach hut licence holders will be written to directly as part of the consultation.
