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Beach hut bonanza defies downturn
20.03.09
Beach huts are bucking the economic trend with buyers splashing out £40,000 a time for the sea-view sheds.
Nine buyers have paid for a 25-year lease on the beach huts on Bournemouth seafront without even seeing them.
The 8ft by 11ft huts have been dubbed glorified sheds and have no running water or electricity and cannot be slept in overnight.
But it is the uninterrupted views of Poole Bay that appeal to buyers.
Ed Sadd, director of Poulton Portables in Shaftesbury, which made the huts, said: "It is really unbelievable that in these economic times people can find that sort of money without even seeing what they are getting. They might be glorified sheds but anyone who knows the area will know the magnificent views they offer."
A total of 24 new huts will grace the seafront at Alum Chine.
Nine have sold already for £39,950 on a 25-year lease.
Meanwhile beach hut tenants in Bournemouth are angry at facing bills ranging from £300 to £500 under a new rates system.
The previous ground rent to the council cost about £55 a year but now the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has decided to rate each hut as a non-domestic property and sent letters requesting the extra funds.
The rate changes affect hut owners in Poole and Christchurch as well.
A VOA spokesman said: "If a local authority, or other landlord, retains paramount control over two or more contiguous beach huts they will be valued together in a single rating assessment with the local authority liable for the non-domestic rate payment.
"However, where a local authority has relinquished paramount control of a beach hut and the occupation of the hut fulfils the appropriate tests then a separate rating assessment is required.
"The VOA is in the process of reassessing beach huts in Bournemouth and will be making amendments to the rating list next month."
Bournemouth Borough Council still has a beach hut waiting list of more than 1,000 people despite the rate changes.
