New Forest Beach Hut Owners Association set to meet with NFDC’s coastal team at its AGM

FURTHER beach hut devastation at Milford will be on the agenda when owners meet tonight (Wednesday).

As reported dozens of beach huts at Hordle Cliff have been lost in recent months due to the impact of coastal erosion and cliff subsidence.

New Forest Beach Hut Owners Association is set to meet with NFDC’s coastal team at its AGM in Lyndhurst this evening.

Earlier this month, Storm Kathleen caused further damage to the half-mile stretch of beach huts at Milford, leading to the closure of some access paths.

A spokesperson for NFDC told the A&T that the authority is constantly assessing the situation at Milford.

The spokesperson added: ”We are still fully assessing the current position at Hordle Cliff and engaging with beach hut owners. As yet we have not determined if any further huts will require licences to be terminated.”

Meanwhile in an effort to save a much-loved family beach hut, owner Sue Green, from Lymington, recently spent £2,000 to have her hut pulled down and rebuilt in her garden.

She revealed that when NFDC told the hut owners there was nothing they could do to stop the bank from being washed away, she vowed to enjoy one last summer before having it rebuilt in her back garden in October.

Sue (65) now uses it as a glorified potting shed. She said: “I feel bad for all the other hut owners but I am relieved that I moved mine when I had the chance.

“The beach huts at Milford used to sell for between £20,000 to £40,000 and now I am using one as a garden potting shed.”

Sue’s late grandfather George first bought a beach hut at Milford more than 60 years ago, and it has been used and enjoyed by five generations of the family since.

There used to be two rows of beach huts in front of theirs but they were lost over time.

In 2022 the beach hut owners met with NFDC representatives, who told them the coastline would not be defended from the elements.

Sue continued: “We decided to have one last summer there last year and move our hut in the autumn. It was really sad to make a decision but I couldn’t bear to see what is happening down there at the moment.

“It was taken apart in sections and reassembled in our back garden, I had a bit of space for it as a potting shed.

“It is nice to know that it has been saved and is still in use.”

In an update to beach hut owners, NFDC said: ”Our coastal team are continuing to inspect and assess the impacts of the recent storms along our coastline at Hordle Cliff, where beach huts have been further affected.

“This is as well as the coastline at Milford and Hurst Spit.

“The removal of a number of damaged huts from Hordle Cliff is being planned, but unsettled weather conditions mean that we can’t confirm a date at the moment.

“Our coastal team are speaking to hut owners on site and will be engaging further to keep them updated as we determine the full impacts.

“Beach levels have continued to reduce at Hordle Cliff, resulting in ground movement where beach huts are located to the eastern end of the site. Further damage has been caused to the main coastal steps that were closed following Storm Ciarán in November.”

The council added: “Our teams are removing debris where possible, and we will continue to monitor with regular inspections. If you are visiting the coast, please take care, especially in high winds, and follow guidance on signs.”

As reported, a number of beach huts at Hordle Cliff had their licences terminated in March after NFDC concluded that they were unsafe and could not be replaced. These huts will be removed by NFDC later this year.

Many beach hut owners are upset that NFDC no longer actively manages coastal erosion by recharging shingle and maintaining sea defences. This is because the authority is following a shoreline management plan that determines how the local coastline is managed.

Paul Major (69), who represents beach hut owners at Hordle Cliff as a member of the New Forest Beach Hut Owners Association, recently told the A&T: “Nobody knew about the shoreline management plan. There was a big fallout because no one knew that the policy was to leave the coast to erode. It wasn’t well publicised.

“There are a lot of very upset beach hut owners – they feel that they have not been well communicated with.”

He continued: “In 10 years I imagine there will be half the huts left that we have now.”