Beach hut owners face higher fees and charges

Beach hut owners face higher fees and charges, with a 10 per cent transfer fee among the latest proposals.

A similar plan was floated four years ago, with beach huts changing hands for tens of thousands of pounds, but the move was eventually defeated.

The latest attempt to switch from a flat-rate administration fee to a percentage-based fee is set out in a report to members of Brighton and Hove City Council.

The council currently charges an £82 fee but councillors are being asked to approve a transfer fee of 10 per cent of the sale price. At current sale, prices this could land owners with a bill for more than £3,000.

Owners can only sell beach huts to Brighton and Hove residents once they have owned them for three years. A report said that huts were currently going for between £29,000 and £36,500.

The proposals are outlined in a report to the council’s Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture Committee which is due to meet next Thursday (12 January).

The report said that Hove seafront has 459 privately owned wooden beach huts, with owners required to pay the council an annual licence fee of £457.82.

Councillors are being asked to approve a 5 per cent increase to £480.71.

The report also proposes putting up charges for council-owned brick-built beach chalets by 10 per cent.

Beach chalet charges vary depending on what services are available. In Hove, chalets have electricity and water. In other areas, such as Rottingdean and Saltdean, there is a communal tap.

Hove chalet rents are proposed to rise from £1,521.20 a year to £1,673.32. Rottingdean and Saltdean chalet rents would go up from £889.60 to £978.56.

The council also hopes to make more money from the seafront bandstand and has proposed a tiered hire rate for weddings and other ceremonies.

If approved, the fee would be £850 on a bank holiday. A ‘premium’ rate of £790 would apply on Fridays and Saturdays. And reduced rates would be charged for off-peak days – £600 for each of the two two-hour slots.

The report said: “If successful, this will increase revenue to the council although it is not possible to forecast what the uplift in income is likely to be.

“As the hire fees are already high compared with any other seafront facilities, a 10 per cent increase may have the adverse effect of driving business away.

“However, it is hoped that introducing the off-peak rate will encourage couples who may be concerned by the higher price to switch the day rather than choosing an alternative cheaper venue.”

The report said: “Fees and charges are considered to be an important source of income in enabling services to be sustained and provided.

“A wide range of services are funded or part-funded by fees and charges including those detailed in this report.

“The overall budget strategy aims to ensure that fees and charges are maintained or increased as a proportion of gross expenditure through identifying income-generating opportunities, ensuring that charges for discretionary services and trading accounts cover costs, and ensuring that fees and charges keep pace with price inflation and/or competitor and comparator rates.”

The council’s Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 4pm on Thursday 12 January. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.