Concerns have been raised that plans to provide 19 new beach huts on a Suffolk seafront could lead to "displacement and damage" of the chalets in high tides.
Felixstowe Beach Hut and Chalets Association, which represents owners, is warning East Suffolk Council’s proposal to install a second row of wooden huts close to the town’s promenade at Manor End will restrict space and create an added risk of damage from huts colliding if there is flooding.
Existing huts on the section between the prom and sea wall at the southern end of Manor End will be moved forward and staggered so the new huts behind can have a sea view.
The development will provide sites for 14 of the 44 displaced beach huts from further along the prom outside the Spa Pavilion, which were left with nowhere to go after the council terminated their site licences.
New locations have been found for the other 30 huts.
However, the association’s secretary Julie Downton said the plans created a risk the front row could be washed into the huts behind if sea water breached the wall, especially with climate change creating increasingly extreme weather.
She said: “The owners of the existing row of huts at the Manor End location have been offered the chance to move forward to create a front row, however, they feel that the council has not taken into consideration the damage that can be caused by high tides.
“By moving huts forward, this will significantly increase the risk of displacement and damage, not only to them but also the new row behind.”
An East Suffolk Council spokesperson said: “New locations have been secured for all but 14 of the 44 displaced Felixstowe Spa beach huts and a further planning application has been recently submitted to develop a new row of hut sites at Manor End.
“This would ensure that the remaining 14 huts could also be accommodated.
“A recent meeting with representatives from the Felixstowe Beach Hut and Chalet Association has also identified further spaces, which will now be explored.
“The planning application seeks to add a row of huts in front of the southernmost set of existing huts at Manor End.
"As with any planning application, it will be considered in line with local and national planning policy and with due consideration for the responses of consultees.”
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