Felixstowe Beach Hut and Chalet Association submits own plans to find a home for 14 beach huts from the Spa

New plans have been submitted to secure a site for 14 beach huts that are earmarked for relocation from a historic seaside spot but currently have nowhere to go.

This planning application is by the Felixstowe Beach Hut and Chalet Association to find a home for these huts by the Spa Pavilion that were not allocated a new site by East Suffolk Council from those currently available.

The district council, which terminated hut owners' licences for the 44 beach huts in the Spa area earlier this year, had applied for a site at Manor End to accommodate the 14, but this was refused by the same council's planning committee last week.

Now the Felixstowe Beach Hut and Chalet Association has put in an application to East Suffolk Council for these huts without a home to be located in front of the playground at Martello Park at Manor End - with seven beach huts on one side and seven beach huts on the other side of the footpath from the playground.

It is similar to a planning application by East Suffolk Council for an area between the sea wall and prom at Manor End to resite a number of huts from the Spa that was rejected earlier this year on ecology grounds.

The plans by the association come with a new ecology report and seek to address concerns over damage to the rarer vegetated shingle habitat.

Julie Downton, secretary of the Felixstowe Beach Hut and Chalet Association, said: "It's a single row of huts. The last application for Manor End [refused last week] was for a double row of huts, which wasn't going to work.

"This is far more sensible: a single row of huts allowing the beach huts and the vegetation to live alongside each other."

The ecology report talks of mitigation measures to prevent a net loss of biodiversity and habitat damage.

It says the beach huts could be placed in two sections and in order to further minimise environmental damage the site needs to be properly managed and improved to allow the nine nationally-scarce and vulnerable plant species found on the site to prosper.

A statement in support of the Manor End planning application, from the 14 Spa beach hut owners who are currently without a home for their huts, said the plans are for placing the beach huts in two groups of seven and behind these areas they would suggest a roped-off area for protection of the ecology.

"We, as beach hut owners, are committed to avoiding any damage to the rarer vegetated shingle habitat. Once the beach huts are in their optimal position, we would see ourselves as guardians of the local ecology," they said.

They also say if planning is granted, it would be possible to create separate areas of habitat for Stinking Goosefoot, growing new plants from the seeds of a local source, and the beach hut owners could oversee and monitor these areas.

The 14 Spa beach hut owners say they had campaigned throughout for the past year to remain at the Spa area, and still believe this is the best place for their huts, given the

heritage of beach huts in that area.

However, if remaining at the Spa is not possible, they would seek an alternative placement that is comparable to this premier site, they said.

"It is hoped that this statement, alongside the latest ecology report, will be enough to show East Suffolk Council that this planning application could be advantageous for all," they said.

"Alongside the action points for mitigation, and with the active involvement of the beach hut owners, this proposal is not only an opportunity for 'mitigation'. It is an opportunity for a net benefit to this scarce habitat and its community."

So far, 17 public comments have been submitted in support of the application and there are no objections.

One supporter said: "A very sensible and pragmatic solution. Far more logical that the (now rejected) proposal of setting a second row at Manor End that would have been susceptible to the regular occurrence of the high tides washing over the promenade.

"This is an ideal location and should have been supported previously. It is far enough away from the water's edge not to put the huts and occupants at risk of the waves and shingle within."

Last week, cranes began moving the 30 of the 44 Spa beach huts to their new licensed sites.

It is understood the remaining 14 huts are still there. Previously, East Suffolk Council said they would be contacting these hut owners in due course to discuss the next steps.

In a statement, an East Suffolk Council spokesperson said: "East Suffolk Council has been consulted as the landowner for this particular application, and we have also provided information requested by the Beach Hut Association. The council will be presented with a formal notice of the application, and we will provide comments through the appropriate planning channels.

“Separate to this process, we continue to engage with the beach hut owners and will work through the next steps in relation to the remaining 14 units."

The council had said that in consultation with beach hut owners, it had explored all reasonable options to retain the huts in their location at the Spa, including beach platforms, but sadly there was no safe option for their return to the original beach location, nor for them to remain at their temporary location on the prom, which impacts on other prom users.