Felixstowe beach hut campaigners ‘thrilled’ to win planning permission for 14 huts to return to the Spa

Campaigners who have been fighting for the return of beach huts to their historic home along Felixstowe beachfront are celebrating after they say the ‘right decision was made’.

Yesterday, East Suffolk Council planning committee members unanimously granted approval to reinstate the 14 beach huts in the area of the Spa Pavilion, with the installation of wooden platforms for them on the beach.

These 14 huts were part of a group of 44, which got moved from their historic seaside setting by the Spa.

They all lost their spot after East Suffolk Council terminated their site licences, but while new sites were secured for 30 of the huts, 14 were left with nowhere to go.

The beach hut owners’ campaign unearthed the historical significance of the huts, some of which are more than 130 years old, and the importance of Felixstowe as the first site for beach huts in Britain.

Author Ruth Dugdall, who owns one of the 14 huts, said they were ‘thrilled’ with the committee’s decision. “Finally, after two-and-a-half years of campaigning, the right decision was made,” she said.

“It’s a win for Felixstowe and for Britain’s seaside heritage that beach huts will be returned to their home, where they have been since the 1880s.”

Speaking at the meeting, beach hut owner and campaigner Will Crisp said the huts were ‘loved by everybody in Felixstowe’ and more than 5,000 had signed a petition underpinning that.

He said: “The opportunity to develop a community resource, so it’s living history, on the seafront at Felixstowe is extraordinary.”

The beach owners’ plans include a heritage colour scheme for the huts and signage exploring the history and heritage.

Mr Crisp added: “The beach huts are hugely important, not just for the town, not just for Suffolk, but in telling the story of what it means to go to the seaside.”

Ruth said when the campaign began, they hadn’t realised how much traction it would have, and added: “People really care about this stuff and about beach huts and we found a whole community of people who want to protect this history; the Victorian Society has been brilliant, Griff Rhys Jones.”

Mayor of Felixstowe and ward councillor Seamus Bennett, who was a speaker at the meeting, said he felt to some extent there was a ‘duty of thanks’ to the community here for ‘standing up for this and really getting to grips with what the potential benefits of this situation are’.

He added: “By maintaining the presence of these traditional beach huts in this iconic and central location we are indeed supporting economic, historical and cultural asset.”

He felt the plans would boost the tourist economy of not only Felixstowe, but the whole of East Suffolk.

He described the process over the last couple of years as ‘quite long and eventful stroke tortuous’.

He said while there was a slight risk of potential damage to the platforms, he felt there was a lesson to be learned by the council in terms of engaging with the community in a positive way and accepting a little bit of risk, and looking for compromises or thinking creatively.

The meeting did hear that East Suffolk Council had carried out a lot of work in trying to secure beach hut locations.

Cllr Tom Daly said: “I like the idea of the historical element of this where it’s rooted right in the beginnings of the town coming forward now and coming into the future.”

Cllr Mike Ninnmey also loved the historical connection and added: “It’s a brilliant use of seafront space. It’s a thriving community.”

The application had been recommended for approval by the planning officer, with conditions.