Founded in 1990, the Association aims to represent, support and safeguard the interests of its members who own beach huts at Barton-on-Sea, Calshot, Hordle Cliff or Milford-on-Sea. We hope you will find information of use and interest in these pages, whether you are a general enquirer or looking for information in our members’ only section.
The Association’s purpose, set out in its constitution, is to advise, represent, and liaise with New Forest District Council and other authorities on behalf of its members across all matters relating to the ownership of beach huts. Membership is by annual subscription and there are currently over 400 huts whose owners are members. The Association is headed up by a committee of currently 7, though 1 additional member is being sought. Although not a Registered Charity, the Association makes donations to charitable organisations from time to time.
NFDC has been advised that estate agents' "For Sale" signs have recently been seen on a number of beach huts on the New Forest beaches.
NFBHOA has been asked by NFDC to remind hut owners that attachment of any sign, notice, advertisement or placard to a beach hut on a site licenced from NFDC is not permitted, per Licence Condition 16. Hut owners selling huts with the help of estate agents must make clear when contracting with an agent that their "For Sale" boards are not to be posted on the hut concerned.
NFBHOA understands that Towergate Insurance has resumed offering beach hut insurance policies.
So, four insurers are again listed in the members only section of our site under the tab: beach-hut-insurers
NFBHOA was advised by Steve Cook, NFDC's Service Manager, Coastal of Drop-in events to find out more on Christchurch Bay coastal strategy, about which Peter Ferguson of NFDC spoke at our 2022 AGM.
BCP Council and New Forest District Council invited local people and coastal businesses to find out more about the development of a new Christchurch Bay coastal strategy. The coastal strategy will guide how the risks of coastal flooding and erosion may be sustainably managed for the next 100 years in the area from Hengistbury Head Long Groyne to Hurst Spit, encompassing Christchurch Harbour.
The strategy is being produced jointly by both councils, working together with the Environment Agency. As well as informing how coastal communities may be protected, it will also consider the effects of predicted climate change, including sea level rise and increased levels of storminess.
The second phase of public engagement events in May and June 2022 included two face-to-face drop-in sessions, one on-line event hosted by Dorset Coast Forum, and an on-line survey.
Towards the end of this year, further feedback will be invited on all the potential options which can realistically be delivered. This will help inform the development of a short list of options which will be rigorously evaluated. The draft preferred short-listed options will then be consulted on in 2023. It is anticipated the final strategy will be adopted in early 2024.
Councillor Mark Anderson, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste at BCP Council, said: “In this second phase of the strategy’s development, we are highlighting the scenario to explain: What happens if we don’t defend our coast? Our work to date has helped us establish this baseline which represents a hypothetical situation where we abandon our existing defences and don’t prepare for climate change. The process is not designed to alarm people, it enables us to evidence and justify what options there are to ‘do something’ to address coastal flooding and erosion risk. We are inviting people to come and talk with us about these findings at our drop-in events, or complete our on-line survey, to tell us if there is anything else we should consider at this stage.”
Councillor Steve Davies, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Coastal Services at New Forest District Council, added: “Once we have listened to feedback we will work with stakeholders again to identify a long list of options to ‘do something’ and we’ll assess them to understand where, when and broadly what type of works are needed and what this may cost. Local authorities do not have a statutory duty to undertake coast protection work, but we can use permissive powers to protect our coastline and work with communities to help them adapt to future coastal change. Crucially, the final adopted Strategy will enable us to bid for government funding to deliver viable and realistic coast protection schemes. Although there is no guarantee we’d receive 100% funding for these, it’ll help us to understand the required level of partnership funding that may be required to deliver a scheme.”
The Strategy area – The image below shows the Christchurch Bay and Harbour Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy area. The markers in red show the strategy extents from Hengistbury Head Long Groyne to Hurst Spit Rock revetment, encompassing Christchurch Harbour up to the tidal extents of Tuckton Bridge on the River Stour and Knapp Mill on the River Avon.
About Hurst Spit – The Christchurch Bay & Harbour Strategy and the Hurst Spit to Lymington Strategy are two important flood and coastal erosion risk management projects being delivered along the south coast of England. Although both strategies are defined by geographical boundaries, coastal dynamics don’t work this way! The two strategies are linked by Hurst Spit, an important feature and landmark of the area, which by working collaboratively together, will be integrated into both strategies, ensuring that it is fully considered by both project teams.
Strategy contacts:
Alan Frampton, Strategy & Policy Manager, BCP Council
Peter Ferguson, Senior Engineer, New Forest District Council
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Hordle Cliff suffered worst of the four beaches in the NFDC area from storms Eunice and Franklin. We have now received three updates concerning Hordle from Steve Cook, New Forest District Council's Service Manager, Coastal and a meeting took place on 24 October 2022:
Hordle Cliff Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment
Following a meeting between owners of the closed-off Hordle huts 137 to 158 and NFDC Coastal Team representatives on 24 October 2022, the following Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment report was released to hut owners. The report details the Engineer's findings concerning the stability of the cliff in the vicinity of the subject huts.
Prelim Geotechnical Assessment
The above file has been compressed for addition to this web site. If a full resolution copy is required, please contact Website Administrator
I’m pleased to say that the steps at the eastern end have now been opened-up and access can be gained to those huts that sit behind the seawall as well as those on the upper level, from hut 158 to hut 177. We are though, continuing to see cliff movement in the upper level between hut 137 and hut 153 and this section needs to remain closed. We are continuing to monitor and assess this area for ongoing movement, but for now unfortunately, access cannot be allowed to this section.
We are continuing to liaise with individual owners who require further information or who have huts that have been affected by the beach erosion. But should you have any questions then please direct them to coastal.team@nfdc.gov.uk although the team is busy, we will try to get back to you as soon as we can.
I’m writing to you to provide a further update with regard to the beach huts located behind the seawall, this follows my Update 1 of 22nd February.
Firstly I would like to thank you for your patience while we have been dealing with the numerous issues at Hordle Cliff following storms Eunice and Franklin. Unfortunately, we are still continuing to see the further impacts at the site with cliff instability and further beach losses to the west of where your beach huts are located.
I’m pleased to say though, that you can now plan to have the necessary works undertaken to your beach hut to make it usable again. Particularly those that have been moved out of alignment and just need some minor work. For some of you, whose huts suffered more substantial damage, you will need to consider if you will be repairing or replacing your beach hut. If this is the case I would remind you of the need to determine if planning permission is required, you can do this by making contact with the duty planning officer using the following details:-
www.newforest.gov.uk/article/2001/Duty-planner-service or call 023 8028 5345.
We will be looking to fully open up access at this eastern end of Hordle Cliff from next week to enable you more easily access your beach hut. If possible, I would like to request that you advise the coastal team at coastal.team@nfdc.gov.uk of your intentions for repairing your beach hut. Particularly if you are planning to undertake this yourself or make use of contractor.
Once again thank you for bearing with us during this time, with a changing situation. Should you have any questions then please do contact the Coastal Team using the email address above.
I'm writing you to provide an update on the devastating impact of storms Eunice and Franklin on Hordle Cliff and the beach huts. As I'm sure you can understand this has been a challenging few days for us in trying to inspect and assess the impact across our coastline, not helped in any way with the prolonged unsettled weather.
Following initial inspections on Friday afternoon (18/2/22) and Saturday morning the decision was taken to close access to Hordle cliff, on the basis of there being a number of huts in an unstable condition as well as a report of some cracking in the upper footpath area. Without knowing the full extent of damage and to provide safety to hut owners, residents and visitors the site was closed.
We are still in the position of undertaking further detailed inspections in trying to identify damaged beach huts, which is proving to be even more difficult when a number of huts do not have a number on them. This work will still continue for a while and once we have a clearer picture we will be in a position to make contact on an individual basis with owners who have had huts damaged.
What I can update you on is that we plan, on the 23rd February, to open access again to the western side of Hordle Cliff. We do though need to retain the closure for the eastern end, the reason for this being that:
* There has been significant beach erosion
* A number of huts are in damaged and unstable condition
* Some cracking has been identified in the upper footpath along the top row of huts
* There has been some ground movement within the slope between the upper and lower beach huts
For access purposes this means that on the upper level there will no access to any beach huts from hut number 136 through to the eastern end at hut number 177 and for the lower level no access to beach huts from hut number 294 through to the eastern end to hut number 235. It is of course difficult to fully close a beach, but I would ask that you do not access any of these areas.
Please bear with us in the Coastal Team while we work through assessing the impacts and actions that can be taken. Should you however, wish to ask any questions then please do so by emailing us at coastal.team@nfdc.gov.uk
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We take crime very seriously and have written to both the local police and MP in relation to reporting and reducing crime. This is an ongoing matter and we will work with all members. Advice on this can be found at: https://www.newforestbeachhuts.com/#security.
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As a reminder, a Beach Hut Sales option is included on our website. This is a free facility which members can use. Please visit https://www.newforestbeachhuts.com/hut-sales for more information.
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The position of Chair of the Association remains vacant, so a new Chair is again sought.
If you are interested in being the Chair, please contact Jan Wise for further details: hon.secretary@newforestbeachhuts.com
Prospective nominees will need to be members of the Association.
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If you see anti-social behaviour or criminal activity in progress, do not intervene, but call 999.
Report any suspicious behaviour you see, or damage to your hut which you believe may have been caused by criminal activity, to the police by phoning 101 or online at: Report a Crime.
Be ready to give the postcode for the incident. For Barton on Sea BH25 7DU, Calshot SO45 1BR, Hordle Cliff SO41 0UX and Milford SO41 0PY.
Looking around your neighbours’ huts is invaluable. Please report any damage found to your NFBHOA beach rep. For contact, see: https://www.newforestbeachhuts.com/#contactus
or phone NFDC on 02380 285000, email: coastal.team@nfdc.gov.uk
Outside normal office hours call NFDC’s emergency service on 023 8028 5250. In the unlikely event you are unable to contact NFDC on this number, you can call an emergency mobile number: 07771 259098.
https://www.newforest.gov.uk/article/1162/Contact-us
Advice for Beach Hut Owners - Autumn and Winter
Autumn / winter is an interesting time at the beach, but there are fewer people about to look out for problems with huts and weather may cause damage too. So, the first step to keep your hut safe and secure is to make sure that it is in good condition and that it is properly locked-up. If repair work is needed, a list of contractors can be found by visiting our Members Only page (password required) and clicking the link to Beach Hut Repair / Maintenance Contractors:
https://www.newforestbeachhuts.com/members-only/
If you are closing your hut for the winter, please be sure to remove any items of value and all gas bottles.
Hut Maintenance Work
If maintenance work has been carried out at your hut, please ensure all rubbish and materials are removed from the site after completion of the job, so the area is kept clean for all beach users. Leaving waste materials at the beach is considered to be fly-tipping and as such is an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Offenders can face an unlimited fine, a criminal record and a prison sentence.
Under the licence issued to owners by New Forest District Council for beach huts on our 4 beaches, no renting of huts is permitted under any circumstances.
Responsible dog owners and their dogs are welcome on our beaches, but it is advisable to keep dogs on long leads. Please clean up after your dog has fouled.
Reports have been received of white lumps of congealed palm oil on New Forest beaches. Dog owners are warned that this material causes severe illness if ingested by their pets. If you see this material on a beach, please advise NFDC's Customer Services by phoning 023 8028 5000 or by email at: customer.services@nfdc.gov.uk
