Plans to build controversial beach huts next to millionaires’ seaside resort Sandbanks could be just the thing to stop erosion of Britain’s coastline
- They are to be built on two-tiers half-way up a Sandbanks cliff in Poole, Dorset
- The project designer says they are ‘modern solution’ that ‘enhances ecology’
- Residents are convinced they will become holiday flats and say ‘reject! reject!’
Nearly 30 eco-friendly beach huts could be built into a fragile cliff at a popular English seaside to prevent it from erosion.
The timber-clad ‘pods’ will be built on two tiers halfway up the 100ft sloping seaside cliff near to Sandbanks in Poole, Dorset, and could be the answer to the crumbling cliff-edge.
These 28 huts will sit on stilts and be drilled into the ground to improve the cliff’s stability in the coastal town which lists Harry Redknapp and his wife Sandra as residents.
Twenty-eight timber beach-huts could be built across a Sandbanks cliff in Dorset as a ‘modern solution’ to erosion in the seaside town. The ‘innovative’ designs say they would be propped on stilts and have solar panels on the roof
Natural materials and the panels would make the eco-pods self-sufficient and ‘minimise impact’ to the surrounding environment
Sandbanks is a popular holiday destination and rents lots of waterside apartments to holiday-makers. Harry Redknapp and his wife Sandra are among the elite residents
Each hut will have 140sq ft of floor space and balconies providing panoramic views of the beach and sea. Their roofs will be fitted with solar panels as a way to reduce reliance on external services.
They offer an ‘innovative and attractive contemporary design’ which will ‘positively contribute to visual amenities’, a spokesman for the planning consultant has said.
‘The proposed development will vastly enhance tourism and modernise beach front accommodation.’
Project designer James Munday said the huts were a ‘modern solution to a traditional British way of life that enhances the ecology.’
This comes just after the National Trust introduced photo-stands across Dorset beaches encouraging beach-goers to take pictures and upload them to Instagram with ‘#NTshiftingshores’ to help them monitor coastal erosion.
And one person wrote into the Bournemouth Echo about the huts: ‘They look great, fresh modern and a good size, why should a beach hut just be the size of a garden shed. Hope they get built, will be a fantastic addition.’
This aerial mock-up design shows the sleek and neat huts lining the Dorset water-front. They would be rented out by Flaghead Management Ltd if the plan gets the go ahead
‘These are holiday flats’: Some local residents have expressed their anger towards the newly-published plans and are convinced they will ‘change use’ once they are built
garrardj-pickles added how the plan is ‘far better than the poky victorian style cheap-looking huts the Council usually put up’ and ‘about time the seafront had some style’.
An ecological survey has determined that the beach huts’ design would ‘maintain the majority of the cliff face’ whilst ‘minimising the impact’ to the surrounding habitats and environment.
Steps will be built for easy access to the huts as the lowest tier will stand at 20ft above ground level and the upper tier almost 15ft above that.
It is likely that the huts will be rented out by Flaghead Management Ltd if the project is approved by the local council.
A row of colourful beach huts line the Dorset coast during the summer holidays (stock photo)
However, one local resident who lives near to the area opposes the development and said: ‘Shoving a load of beach huts in this area will spoil this forever.’
Another wrote: ’13sq m? That is positively huge for a beach hut. 5 is more normal. Let me guess, these huts will have services… then once built the application for change of use comes in. These are holiday flats.’
This comes just after Sandbanks property prices have surged by £161,944 in one year and suggests investment is thriving, according to Lloyds Property Group statistics.
Mr Goo from the New Forest added: ‘Lots of nice ‘organic’ words used by the planning agent to sell this scheme.
‘Quite rightly spotted by others that if approved and built that it’ll have an application for change of use to holiday homes. An attempt to grab land for residential use. Reject! Reject! Reject!’
Meanwhile another asked: ‘This must be a joke, no?’
The planning application is still be considered by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.