Decision details

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)    notes the outcome of the public consultation undertaken on the draft Beach Hut Strategy, as set out in the Portfolio Holder’s report;

(b)    notes the outcome of the Task and Finish Review Working Group undertaken on behalf of the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee and their recommendations received as considered earlier in the meeting;

(c)    in relation to (a) and (b) above, notes the changes made to the draft strategy as a result of the consultation exercise, including the process for issuing commercial beach hut leases (following the first round of consultation) and the consideration of a ‘buffer period’ in restricting future agreements to one per household;

(d)    notes the proposed changes to the revised draft Beach Hut Strategy, and approves the same for adoption;

(e)    delegates the approval of a revised Beach Hut design specification to the Assistant Director (Building & Public Realm), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism;

(f)     agrees the Heads of Terms for a new commercial lease (Appendix C) and delegates authorisation for the final lease agreement to the Corporate Director (Operations & Delivery), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism and the Head of Legal Services;

(g)    delegates agreement of an approved criteria, upon which applications for commercial licences can be made, to the Assistant Director (Building & Public Realm), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism;

(h)    agrees to set fees and charges for commercial leases at twice the value (double) of the comparative standard annual charge;

(i)     agrees to the overall principle of changing from licence agreements to leases from 1 April 2024, for a term of less than 7 years and based on the market valuation for the relevant location, recognising the increased administration and costs to all parties on leases for longer than 7 years with the respective fees and charges and detailed lease terms to be agreed by the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism; and

(j)     agrees that operational implementation of (i) above will be authorised by the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism and the Head of Legal Services, reflecting the resources required.