A collection of new Lancing beach huts were given approval this week.
Adur District Council’s planning committee gave the green light for eight new beach huts to be built to the south of the bandstand, at Beach Green, on Monday (March 7).
Lancing Parish Council originally applied to install 20 huts with the additional 12 in a separate block further to the east, close to The Perch.
But this has since been scaled back after planning officers expressed concerns that the huts could block sea views.
There were also 12 letters objecting to the original plans which expressed concern over increased noise, the potential effect on sea views, and the safety of cycle path users.
Only two letters of objection were received to the revised plans.
Planning officers therefore recommended the eight new huts for approval.
“The problem that we had initially was a balance between what is quite an established demand across Adur and Worthing at the moment, but also the need to protect seafront views,” they said.
Around 1,631 people were on the waiting list for a beach hut in Adur and Worthing in October -the equivalent of a ten year wait.
This is more than double the 676 people who were on the wait list three years prior, in September 2018.
One letter addressed to the council said:
“It would be nice if the [new huts] could be rented by local families, and not sold to a few people who have the financial means to buy them.”
This was also raised by councillor Tania Edwards (Con, Southlands) but planning officers confirmed that four huts would be sold on with the other four kept for ‘community use’.
Carol O’Neal (Lab, Eastbrook) asked if the huts could be sold to local people but officers said this would be difficult to enforce.
The committee agreed that the scaled-back scheme of eight huts was ‘a great deal more acceptable’ than the 20 originally planned.
More details can be found at the council’s planning portal using the reference: AWDM/0028/22.
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