Felixstowe beach hut owners begin legal challenge over move

A formal legal challenge has been made against a council's decision to move 44 beach huts.

The huts near the Spa Pavilion in Felixstowe were moved from the beach to the promenade due to erosion in 2018.

But East Suffolk Council said the huts remaining on the promenade was "not a viable permanent option" and it had found new locations for 30 of the huts.

The Felixstowe Beach Hut and Chalet Association said it was "asking for a judicial review of the decision".

East Suffolk Council said it had "thoroughly explored all reasonable options".

The council terminated the licences for all 44 huts on the promenade, despite there only being space for 30 to move elsewhere, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Felixstowe is believed to have been one of the first resorts in the country to have beach huts, with the traditional seaside cabins having graced the sands there since the Victorian era.

Julie Downton, secretary of the Felixstowe Beach Hut and Chalet Association, said it wanted to go into mediation and the huts to "go back on platforms [on the beach] and move to the prom every winter, which they have done every year since 1945".

Comedian Griff Rhys Jones, who has a home in Suffolk and is president of The Victorian Society, said the heritage charity had been contacted by campaigners to assess the importance of the huts.

"Some of those in contention are amongst, possibly, the oldest in Britain, so under those circumstances you are talking about something that's important in heritage terms," he said.

"It cannot be beyond the wit of the council to find a way of making them secure and safe.

"I believe these huts are part of the appeal of Felixstowe and for that reason every effort should be made to preserve them."

A spokesman for East Suffolk Council said it would not be "appropriate to comment any further".

"There is no safe option for their return to the beach, and the temporary solution, which impacts on other users of the promenade, is not a viable permanent option," he said.

More than 3,900 people have signed a petition for the huts to stay on the promenade.

The council has 21 days to respond to the legal papers and the issue is due to be discussed at a council meeting on 25 May.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk