Beach hut owners fear new council rent plan

2 hours ago

Clare Wordenin Heacham

News image — Annual licences are replacing 10-year leases for the huts at Heacham

Clare Worden/BBC A group of beach hut owners standing outside a row of brightly coloured wooden properties. — Annual licences are replacing 10-year leases for the huts at Heacham

Beach hut owners on the west Norfolk coast said they were worried their rights were being watered down by the local authority.

King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council said bringing in annual licences at Heacham was simpler and more cost effective than the current 10-year leases. It previously had plans to sell the land the huts sit on, but the sale has been paused.

Owners of the 105 huts have been given until 31 March to sign the new agreement and make payment.

Dena Patrick, who has owned beach hut number 33 for 20 years, said the row had become "ugly, unnecessary and unfair".

Clare Worden/BBC Dena Patrick and June Shearman stand in front of a white wooden beach hut. Dena wears a yellow coat and has blonde hair. June has white hair with a pink rinse and wears a blue jacket. — Beach hut owners like Dena Patrick and June Shearman own the beach hut structures and rent the land they sit on from the council

"I won't be signing the licence under any circumstances," she said.

"I'm not sure if I'll even be paying. I might just walk away because the hassle factor is ruining it."

James Goodman Stevens has beach hut number 42 with his girlfriend, Antonia Hayes.

He said he was worried the change from lease to licence might make it easier for the council to sell the land in future.

"These beach huts have been here since Victorian times, and the only way of maintaining them and being sure that they stay here for the ongoing future is to continue those long leases and give us the security that we should have," he said.

Clare Worden/BBC James Goodman Stevens and Antonia Hayes stand in front of their beach hut which is a vibrant yellow and green. James has a long beard and dark hair and is wearing a grey fleece top. Antonia has long dark hair and is wearing a black and white fleece top. — James Goodman Stevens and Antonia Hayes said the beach huts were hugely valued by the visitors and residents of Heacham

The council has paused plans to sell the land while it adopts a property disposal policy, to guide it on which assets to sell and which to keep.

Simon Ring, Independent deputy leader of the council, said: "There is no difference in terms of protection - a licence is just a simpler agreement approach in this case."

He said there was "no intent to proceed with the sale of the site at this stage", and that if the council ever was to sell in future "there would be a restrictive covenant in place to protect the current use as a beach hut site".

The council said no-one would be asked to leave unless they failed to pay the £615 annual fee for a pitch, or if they broke the agreement conditions.

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