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.
The Association's 2026 Annual General Meeting for NFBHOA Members was held at Lyndhurst Community Centre on Wednesday 22 April 2026. When available, a report of proceedings will be placed in the Members Only section of this website.
Your Association's committee has been made aware of an incident at Hordle Cliff whereby beach hut material was used to create potential bonfires. Thankfully it was spotted by some hut owners who dismantled the pile of timber and reported it to 101.
This type of antisocial behaviour is, of course, outside of the control of hut owners, but it highlights the importance of keeping huts in good condition and ensuring that any debris from renovation works is removed from the beach in a timely manner to prevent timber material being used as firewood.
In the event that you do encounter criminal damage or antisocial behaviour, we would ask that you please report this to the relevant local police team by phoning 101 or online at: www.hampshire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ . If an incident is in progress, call 999. Please also inform NFDC at coastal.team@NFDC.gov.uk or by phone at: 02380 285000 (Customer Services, Option 4) or out of hours, 02380 285250.
So, please ensure that materials required for maintenance work or left over after work has been completed are not left outside or under your hut where they can be collected by others and used for beach bonfires.
If access to the underside of a hut is possible, consideration should be given to the installation of boarding to prevent such access.
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.
New Forest District Council has advised the NFBHOA committee that it has launched a new online service for customers to set themselves up to pay their future Council invoices by Direct Debit (DD). This option is being made available to pay invoices for selected services such as Appletree Careline, Keyhaven River moorings and……BEACH HUT LICENCE FEES.
For the first time, and similar to Council Tax, NFDC is offering the option of spreading Site Licence Fee payments over up to 10 months from 1st April to 1st January.
The Direct Debit options available are:
* Full amount on 1st April
* 2 equal instalments on 1st April & 1st September
* 6 equal instalments from 1st April to 1st September
* 10 equal instalments from 1st April to 1st January
If you decide to go with the Direct Debit payment method, you can easily set it up using the link below:
Pay council invoices - New Forest District Council
You will need your customer ID number (found at top-right-hand corner of your last Site Licence Fee invoice) and your bank account details.
This online service is for new DD customers only. Those who are currently set-up to pay by DD but wish to change the frequency of their payments or amend their bank details should contact Sundry Income: sundry.income@nfdc.gov.uk or phone: 01590 646117.
N.B. if your bank account is a joint signatory account where all parties must sign the form (this is different from a joint account where either party can sign and setup payments) the DD setup cannot be done online, so in that case, please contact the Sundry Income group as above.
All DD requests or changes should be received by Sundry Income no later than February 2025.
The Sundry Income group hopes to send letters to all the non-DD beach hut owners at NFDC's beaches and invite them to pay by DD in readiness for the 2025 invoice.
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 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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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 page is included on our website. This is a free facility which Association 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.
Your Association's committee has been made aware of an incident at Hordle Cliff whereby beach hut material was used to create potential bonfires. Thankfully it was spotted by some hut owners who dismantled the pile of timber and reported it to 101.
This type of antisocial behaviour is, of course, outside of the control of hut owners, but it highlights the importance of keeping huts in good condition and ensuring that any debris from renovation works is removed from the beach in a timely manner to prevent timber material being used as firewood.
In the event that you do encounter criminal damage or antisocial behaviour, we would ask that you please report this to the relevant local police team by phoning 101 or online at: www.hampshire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ . If an incident is in progress, call 999. Please also inform NFDC at coastal.team@NFDC.gov.uk or by phone at: 02380 285000 (Customer Services, Option 4) or out of hours, 02380 285250.
So, please ensure that materials required for maintenance work or left over after work has been completed are not left outside or under your hut where they can be collected by others and used for beach bonfires.
If access to the underside of a hut is possible, consideration should be given to the installation of boarding to prevent such access.
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
