Agenda item

Beach huts provision

The Committee is asked to consider a discussion paper on the future provision of beach huts in Swale.

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration, the Head of Commissioning, Environment and Leisure and the Leisure and Technical Services Manager have been invited to attend for this item.

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, the Head of Commissioning, Environment and Leisure and the Leisure and Technical Services Manager to the meeting.

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration introduced the paper and sought Members’ views on the provision of beach huts.

 

Members spoke positively about the development and expansion of beach huts in Swale.  In the discussion that followed, the following points were made:

 

·        beach huts enhanced the seafront and encouraged visitors to the area;

·        more beach huts should be built;

·        ancillary services such as toilets were necessary if more beach huts were built;

·        were administration costs and regulations deterring potential purchasers;

·        other areas, such as Sheerness, should be considered;

·        the use of a few commercial huts for facilities such as shops or watersports should be considered;

·        suggestion of including a timescale when selling on beach huts to those on the beach hut waiting list;

·        the licence ensured that high standards were maintained;

·        increasing the number of beach huts would be profitable for the Council;

·        suggested the £25 retention fee to stay on the beach hut waiting list should be refundable on the purchase of a beach hut;

·        clarification sought on how the sub-letting of beach huts was monitored;

·        suggested a Financial Appraisal of the beach huts to compare profit from rent and sale of beach huts;

·        clarification on how many more huts were planned and where they were planned to be sited;

·        the attraction of the beach huts was not just financial;

·        there needed to be a balance to avoid over-intensification of beach huts;

·        could beach hut tenants buy a beach hut at the end of their term?;

·        were there variations of lease times to suit;

·        a standard licence for all would be more manageable;

·        how was security of the beach huts managed?

·        Planning Regulations should be considered if more beach huts were sited; and

·        non-beach site locations, such as woodlands, should be considered for the siting of huts.

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration agreed to look at the rent-to-buy option.

 

The Leisure and Technical Services manager said that feedback from owners indicated that rules and regulations were welcome and said that beach hut associations were very proactive in encouraging self-help security for beach hut owners.

 

The Head of Commissioning, Environment and Leisure explained that the administration of the waiting list was time consuming and there was a risk of vacant huts and extra officer resource required if additional beach huts were rented rather than purchased.  He advised that work had been carried out on plotting extra beach huts without flooding the market, and he explained the resale process of purchasing beach huts. He clarified the sub-letting clause in the licence.

 

The Head of Commissioning, Environment and Leisure agreed that toilet facilities would be vital if further beach huts were sited at Minster and he explained that of the £100k required to carry out this work, there was currently £30k in reserve.  He added that drainage surveys had already been carried out near the Little Oyster car park.

 

A Member suggested siting beach huts between the Yacht Club and Cain’s Casino, Sheerness and at the sandy beach at Shellness, on land already owned by SBC.

 

In response to a question from the Chairman, the Leisure and Technical Services Manager explained that there had been some quality issues in beach huts installed at Leysdown earlier in the year and a second wall had been installed to protect from water ingress.  He advised that an improved specification would be used in future.

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration thanked Members for their suggestions.

 

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, the Head of Commissioning, Environment and Leisure and the Leisure and Technical Services Manager for their attendance.

Supporting documents: