‘We can't sell our £400k Dorset beach huts – and it's the council's fault'
The owners of Britain's most expensive beach huts have blamed the council for making the properties less desirable to potential buyers.
Eight wooden huts with a combined value of £3.8 million have gone up for sale at Mudeford Spit in Christchurch Harbour, Dorset. The huts range in price from £395,000 to £439,000 – more than the average UK house price.
The properties often sell extremely quickly because of their exclusive location and sea views. Last year, one sold for £485,000 in less than 24 hours.
The unusually high number currently on the market has prompted concerns that the tide may be turning on a once lucrative market.
Financially-struggling Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council (BCP) has been accused of using beach hut owners as 'cash cows'.
The annual hut licence fee has increased by 30 per cent in the past two years to £3,240, with another 5 per cent rise planned for next year. This is in addition to the £23,100 transfer fee.
Stephen Bath, who owns one of the 346 huts at Mudeford, said: 'The council uses the beach huts as a cash cow because they are in dire financial circumstances.
'I think that's what's caused people to try to sell up, hereditary owners who can't afford the rent hikes.
'The council are getting cheeky – they don't care who's paying the rent. Plus people who have bought more recently, out of towners, are also thinking it is getting ridiculous. It costs more to stay at the beach than it would to stay at somewhere like Claridge's.'
Earlier this month, BCP warned it would be forced to issue a section 114 notice, a formal declaration of effective bankruptcy, without more direction from the Government on how to tackle the severe cash flow crisis associated with its growing special educational needs and disability deficit.
Richard Herrett, the council's portfolio holder for leisure and destination, said the rental income for its beach huts enable it to reinvest in 'crucial front-line services that residents rely on each day – such as adult social care and children's services'.
The council said the five-year pricing structure, introduced in 2022, simplified the service 'allowing everyone to know the annual cost of beach huts until 2027/28'.
He added: 'Despite increasing financial constraints which many local authorities face, as a result of national pressures, the council has remained committed to that transparent pricing strategy and will do so into the future.'
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