Rising fees make beach huts 'hard to keep or sell'

Owners of beach huts in Heacham said they were cross about rising ground rents

Beach hut owners said an increase in ground rent was making it impossible to keep or sell them.

The annual charge for a hut in Heacham - near Hunstanton in Norfolk - has risen by £200 to £730 since 2022, and there is a £2,000 transfer fee when selling them.

Some huts have since been vacated, and owner Pam Slote from Wisbech said: "We feel incandescent and very cross."

A Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk spokesperson said the authority was "sympathetic to the position of the owners" and the issues would be discussed "during renewal discussions".

Owners shared their frustrations at struggling to keep or sell their huts

Gary Hall, who has visited his family's hut in Heacham since the 1980s, said: "It has taken away the community there and the companionship built up over the years.

"People I have spoken to have said they would not touch them with a barge pole due to the high costs."

Owner David French said he was considering giving up his hut as the council was "killing the goose that laid the golden egg".

People have failed to sell huts for £10,000, with one recently going to auction for just £6,000, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A spokesperson for the council said: "While it is important to note that these are the conditions that all parties signed up to, we acknowledge that during the 10-year period of the leases, changing market circumstances mean that some of these conditions may not be as suitable as they were when agreed in 2016."