Tenants slam "unaffordable" Poole beach huts rent rise

Poole has more than 1,100 beach huts for hire on an annual basis

Beach huts at a Dorset resort could become unaffordable following rent hikes, tenants have claimed.

Poole Borough Council plans to put charges up by 10% in 2017 and by 5% every year until 2020.

Poole Beach Hut Association said beach huts were being treated as "cash cows".

The authority said the rent rise "reflected high demand". Almost 1,400 names are on the waiting list for hiring its 1,100 seaside huts annually.

Council figures show prospective beach hut tenants could face a minimum wait of up to 18 years at some of its seven locations.

'Distorted figures'

Bob Lister, from the association, said demand was lower due to the fact applicants could pay to apply for huts in more than one site.

"We know that most of those members who got huts last year had waited less than two years," he said.

"We've found there are people waiting for a specific hut and that is distorting the figures."

Mr Lister said rent on his own hut would be more than £2,500 by 2020- an increase of £1,100.

"For a lot of beach hut owners who live in flats, the hut is their life, their garden, their community - at these prices they'll be for the holiday home people and the 'Sandbanks set' who can afford them, rather than the people who actually need it," he added.

Kevin McErlane, from the council, said: "Demand for our beach huts continues to rise and for those people who do not wish to hire a hut on an annual basis there are a number of alternative options available."