To present a draft Beach Hut Strategy for adoption following stakeholder consultation; and

To agree the implementation of the subsequent work strands.

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.

Councillor Allen declared a Personal Interest in that he was the Mayor of Frinton and Walton Town Council and that the Town Council owned two beach huts that it rented out exclusively to residents residing within the Parish.

Councillor Chapman BEM declared a Personal Interest insofar as her family held a licence for a beach hut in Brightlingsea.

Cabinet considered a report of the Leisure and Tourism Portfolio Holder (A.10), which sought its approval for the adoption of the Beach Hut Strategy following stakeholder consultation and for the implementation of the subsequent work strands.

Members recalled that the Council had adopted the current Beach Hut Strategy in 2013.  This revision of the existing strategy aimed to update a number of issues relating to beach huts, to ensure beach hut conditions were adhered to, and appropriate resources were considered to monitor the service.

Following a ‘pre consultation’ process which had engaged 2,673 stakeholders, Cabinet had considered a draft revised Beach Hut Strategy in November 2022 and had then instructed Officers to carry out a further consultation exercise, to allow stakeholder comments on the proposals.

It was reported that the proposals set out in the draft strategy were aimed at improving the beach hut service going forward, in terms of improvements to seafront aesthetics, ensuring a regulated service for rentals and improved governance.  The key strands which had been the subject of the public consultation were as follows:-

·      Implementing Commercial Agreements for those wishing to rent

·      Limiting Beach Hut Agreements to one per household

·      A review of the Beach Hut design specification

·      Addressing Beach Hut Adaptations

·      Resourcing additional enforcement

·      A move towards a digitalised service

·      Building new beach huts

·      A move from licence agreements to leases

Cabinet was informed that the consultation had been completed by 1507 stakeholders and that their views and comments had been taken into consideration in the production of this final draft. Key points for Cabinet’s consideration arising from the consultation were as follows:

·      The majority of consultees either strongly disagreed or disagreed with the proposal to implement commercial agreements for those wishing to rent.  Following an evaluation of the comments received, those responses could be divided into two sections:-

 i.    Those who were concerned about the number of users renting huts were excessive and led to disturbance; and

ii.   Those who felt they should be able to rent under the existing agreements.

·      The majority of consultees either strongly disagreed or disagreed with the proposal to limit beach hut agreements to one per household.  It was noted however, that of Tendring residents completing the consultation, a majority were actually in favour of this action.

·      The majority of consultees either strongly disagreed or disagreed with the proposal to move from licences to leases.  After evaluating the comments received, it was clear that a large proportion of the consultees and their respective Beach Hut Associations, felt they could not agree to this proposal, without knowledge of the price increase and what the proposed agreements would entail.  The Cabinet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119