Beach hut owners furious over hut removals

Sarah Anderson's family has had a beach hut at Preston Sands for 26 years

Beach hut owners are furious after being told their huts will be placed into storage until 2027 while work on coastal defences is carried out.

The hut owners at Preston Sands in Paignton said they were always promised by Torbay Council there would only be "minimal disruption" due to the construction of a new sea wall and public space improvements.

Hut owners said the council had treated them "with contempt" and communication had been "abysmal".

Torbay Council acknowledged there had been issues with communication and said feedback and suggestions would be "carefully considered".

Beach hut owners at Preston Sands are angry about losing their huts for the whole of 2026

Sarah Anderson's family has had a beach hut at Preston Sands for 26 years.

She grew up playing at the beach hut and now brings her children here.

Her hut is in a section towards the west of the beach where the huts are usually accessible all year round.

She said: "We absolutely did not know we were going to have our beach huts removed."

Ms Anderson runs her own business and tries to find time every day to come to the beach hut and swim in the sea.

She said: "I just wonder where am I meant to go. It's going to be absolutely life-changing - I cried when I found out about this."

Maurice Lidster said the project should be carried out in stages

Most of the huts at Preston Sands are privately-owned, with owners paying about £900 a year for site rental and annual storage.

Beach huts across the country have soared in popularity in recent years and there is a waiting list for the sites at Preston Sands.

Maurice Lidster's family has had a beach hut at Preston Sands for about 50 years and he said he used it most days throughout the summer with his hut going into winter storage.

He said: "If they did it in the winter period between the end of September and the beginning of May it would affect nobody."

The initial plan was for a traditional concrete sea wall, but Torbay Council said the scheme "has now evolved into a tiered sea defence".

The council said it had raised £4.6m to spend on the wall at Preston and more sea defences just along the coast at Paignton beach.

It said the conditions of funding meant it needed to complete the work by March 2027.

The council said without these works some residents would not be able to obtain flood insurance.

Louise Hourigan understands the need for sea defences but said the council's communication had been poor

Beach hut owner Louise Hourigan said she recognised the need for better protection from the sea but added Torbay Council's handling of the scheme had been "abysmal".

She said: "I completely understand the need for a sea wall because the climate is changing and the sea levels will rise.

"We're not against the wall, it's just the way that it's been done - they've treated us with contempt, really."

Beach hut owners also said the council had carried out a "grading" of all of the beach huts without the knowledge of the owners.

Sara Della Grotta, who owns a cafe on the promenade, said the plans looked "quite impressive" but was surprised information had only come out at the beginning of July.

The former deputy leader of Torbay Council, Darren Cowell, Independent, said the council had "shot itself in the foot" by not engaging with the community.

There are about 280 beach huts at Preston Sands

Torbay Council said there had been "extensive consultation and engagement" with the community throughout the process.

Adam Billings, the council's cabinet member for pride in place, said he recognised the work "may cause inconvenience for some beach hut owners in 2026".

He said: "We have held regular meetings with beach hut users and other stakeholders, and we acknowledge that, at times, our communication could have been clearer.

"As with all feedback we receive, we are committed to learning lessons and making improvements to how we engage and communicate with the community, particularly on large-scale transformational projects."

A meeting is being held on Tuesday from 18:00 at the Redcliffe Hotel in Paignton, where beach hut owners and members of the public will have the chance to speak with councillors and officers about the project.