Felixstowe beach huts planning application for Martello Park is revised to try and address concerns

Plans for the relocation of beach huts without a site have been revised to take into account concerns over ecology and the impact on a scheduled monument and neighbours.

Beach hut owners who used to have a spot near Felixstowe’s Spa Pavilion have been trying to secure a new site for their huts after attempts by East Suffolk Council (ESC) to do so failed.

ESC terminated hut owners' licences for the 44 beach huts in the Spa area last year, but while new sites were secured for 30 of the huts out of those available, 14 were left with nowhere to go.

An application by the Felixstowe Beach Hut and Chalet Association to locate the remaining 14 at the sea front at Martello Park has been revised since it was submitted last winter, with the huts now placed seaward side of the tidal barrier southeast of Martello Park playground.

This is a change to the original proposal for seven beach huts on one side and seven beach huts on the other side of the footpath from the playground.

A statement by the 14 beach hut owners about the changes said: “We have amended the positioning of the beach huts, to reflect the concerns of English Heritage [Historic England] and also the advice of ecologists.

“The 14 beach huts are now further back, against the sea wall, so out of the ‘sight lines’ from the Martello Tower [scheduled monument].

“They are therefore lower than the previous proposed site, so visually less impactful for the houses behind.

“From an ecological perspective, this means the huts are in a ‘priority area’, but away from the designated ‘County Wildlife Site’, which is the area needing the greatest protection.”

The plans always sought to protect the rarer vegetated shingle habitat, with the application now proposing two areas of beach located seaward side of the tidal barrier east of Martello Tower P maintained for biodiversity mitigation.

The beach hut owners’ statement said: “The suggested area of ‘protection’ is now no longer directly adjacent to the huts, as it was felt that the area most in need to safeguarding is that towards the middle of the area, namely the designated ‘County Wildlife Site’.

“Currently, nothing is being done to protect this important area, so our proposal represents a net gain for this area.”

The beach hut owners have proposed a habitat management plan, which would involve them taking active steps to protect and cultivate the plants, and have said they will pay for ongoing ecological advice.

In conclusion they said: “The placing of beach huts in an area of coastal shingle is a decision that requires careful thought, and we believe that what we are proposing is a net gain for the valuable coastal plants in the area.”

Author Ruth Dugdall, who owns one of the 14 beach huts without a home and now in storage, said it was a question of either keeping the status quo where the area was already neglected or giving them a chance to try and improve the ecology.

“We are committed,” she added. “We are willing to do what we can.”

According to the planning website, the application has 59 comments in support and 27 objections, from public consultation.

Consultee Felixstowe Town Council recommends approval of the application, saying they believe this is an improvement on the initial proposal.

Another consultee, ESC design and conservation, commented in February, before the amended plans were submitted: “Taking into account the scale of the beach huts and their distance from the tower they will not be a prominent feature and the setting of the Martello Tower will remain predominantly open on the seaward side.

“The tower will still be the most dominant structure and whilst acknowledge that there will be some degree of change, in my judgement, I remain of the view that the impact on its setting will be minimal and will therefore not result in a harmful impact on its significance.”

Despite the changes to the plans, consultee Suffolk Wildlife Trust said it maintained its holding objection, with concerns remaining that there is a risk of indirect impact to coastal vegetated shingle on site from trampling by beach hut owners, as well as increased use of this area of the beach.

It added that many of its concerns raised in its previous response to this application had also not been addressed by the applicant.

The beach hut owners also have other proposals to find a home for their huts that are at the pre-application stage.