Lowestoft: Five new £30,000 beach huts sold in three months

Some residents compared the new Lowestoft beach huts to Marmite - the savoury spread that people apparently either love or hate

Just five out of 36 beach huts built as part of a town's £2.6m regeneration project have been sold three months after going on the market.

The Eastern Edge huts, a two-tier complex in Lowestoft, Suffolk, went on sale at the end of May with a price tag of £30,000 each.

Some residents call them the Marmite huts, because they divide opinion.

Danny Steel, from estate agents Steel and Co, said he was "very pleased with the way it's going".

Five of the 36 huts up for sale have been sold

Traditional huts, like these in Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex, have a flat-fronted design, although many have fully-enclosed front sections

There are 72 new huts, which have no water or power supply, which have replaced the former chalets along Jubilee Parade that were shut in 2016.

The remaining 36 are being reserved for renting out.

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When the plans were unveiled by East Suffolk District Council in 2021, they met with a mixed reaction from residents with some objecting to the modern design.

Mr Steel said customers were due to complete on another five huts "within days" and "another five are going through the system so - so far so good".

The huts along Jubilee Parade have beautiful views

"I wouldn't say I'm delighted, but I'm pleased," he said.

"I think things have slowed down because of the pending economic problems and I guess there are some people, who maybe would have bought one, now saying perhaps we should wait, and we understand that."

Councillor Letitia Smith said they were an "absolutely amazing" addition to the seafront

Letitia Smith, councillor with responsibility for leisure, tourism and communities at the Conservative-run local authority, said they were an "absolutely amazing" addition to the town's sandy beaches.

"It's going to allow people to actually come and organise events, and to spill out onto the boardwalk and onto the sand and it's going to be great for people to get together and enjoy this wonderful beach that we have," she said.

"We've got so much to offer, so we're encouraging people to come and visit us."

The Reverend Helen Chandler preferred the "quaint old" beach huts

The Reverend Helen Chandler, from the church-run Kirkley Pantry social supermarket, was critical of the design which includes an angled wooden "screen" at the front, offering more privacy from neighbouring huts than traditional designs do.

They had use of one for free as it had been rented for the summer by Southwold brewers Adnams, who had handed it back to the council for use by community groups.

"It's a good place as a base, but I think with these huts I feel isolated from my neighbour - I want to socialise," the vicar said.

"I think they saw an opportunity to do something new and modern, but I like the quaint old ones. I love Marmite but not the beach huts."

Paulette Holland gave the new huts "a thumbs up"

However, the vicar's colleague Paulette Holland gave them a "thumbs up".

"I think they're a really good asset for Lowestoft," she said.

"I think we have the most beautiful promenade which is vastly undersold.

"We seem to have had a lot of visitors this year and I'm hoping that seeing the beach huts here will entice people to come back again."

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