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 2025 Annual General Meeting will be held at Lyndhurst Community Centre on:
Wednesday, 23rd April 2025 at 5.30pm.
Please note that this meeting is for New Forest Beach Hut Owners' Association Members only.
Information concerning repairs carried out by New Forest District Council at Calshot Beach.
1. Eroded Foreshore Repair
Work was undertaken on Tuesday 5th November 2024 to repair an area of the foreshore on the north-western (lee) side of Calshot Spit. This area was impacted on the 8th & 9th of April 2024 when near record high tides, combined with strong winds & waves, eroded a deep gully to within less than 3m of Jack Maynard Road (a key access road, and the only route along Calshot Spit). The work involved transferring shingle material which had previously been cleared from the RNLI slipway at the tip of Calshot Spit to repair the impacted area.
With the works being undertaken in the vicinity of the Hythe to Calshot Marshes SSSI, particular care was taken to avoid disturbance to birds and other wildlife. Natural England were engaged in the planning stage and issued an assent to undertake the operation. A positive aspect of the works was that operatives noticed that birds were attracted to the newly placed shingle, possibly finding food amongst the sand and stones.
For more information, please see: Calshot_WorksCompletionNote_Nov 2024
2. Top Revetment Piles
NFDC's engineering works team made a start during week commencing 28 October 2024 on repairs to the top revetment piles on the seaward side of the beach huts at Calshot. The work involved cutting off the upper rotten sections of existing piles followed by attaching new timber by dowels and glue, and stabilizing the repairs by timber battens.
The resulting repairs have been found by NFDC to be unsuitable and further work has been paused, pending the outcome of a review of the repair procedure which is now in progress.
3. Powered Craft Exclusion Zone Yellow Marker Buoys.
NFDC's contractor, ABP has now replaced all powered craft exclusion zone marker buoys off Calshot Beach. The buoys have been attached to temporary sinkers as ABP are unable to locate the permanent ones. ABP will return in the Spring when low water will be during daylight hours with a view to re-attaching buoys to the permanent sinkers. In an effort to prevent the buoys coming loose in future, they will be moored using both rope and chain. This will enable NFDC to determine which material is more durable and more likely to keep the buoys secure, and also provides a backup should either method fail.
Work to install the 75m rock revetment comprising large “armourstone units” at Milford-on-Sea, protecting the toe of the eastern end of the seawall from wave attack has now been successfully completed.
Also completed are repairs to timber groynes and a beach recharge with 2,500 tonnes of shingle material in the bays at the western end, opposite the toilet block.
NFDC has recently advised your Association's committee 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.
With school summer holidays due to start next week, hut owners at all sites are reminded to be vigilant for similar occurrences.
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.
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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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
