Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Splash out on beach hut
Prices soar as UK stays at home for hols in heatwave
THE yellow brick road led to Victoria Square yesterday as Megan Walker (Dorothy) and Lauren Brown (the Good Witch Glinda) launched The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz event.
The Belfast shopping centre has adopted the classic tale as the theme for its month-long summer spectacle for “young and old customers alike”.
Shoppers can venture through Munchkinland, enjoy a picnic in the Enchanted Forest, chill out in the Sensory Zone and experience the bright lights of the Emerald City – you never know who THE price of beach huts has soared due to a surge in demand as more people take staycations.
And numbers of the seaside properties has risen from 2,371 in 2010 to around 18,881.
But the growing demand also means the huts are now more expensive to buy or rent. you’ll meet along the way. Centre manager Michelle Greeves said: “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is such an iconic story that can be enjoyed by all age groups. We felt it was the perfect theme for our summer event.”
Free kids’ craft workshops will take place each Thursday and Friday from 10am to 3pm plus don’t miss the chance to win the Ultimate Family Prize of £1,000 to spend with Barrhead Travel or a £500 Victoria Square retail spree.
Visit victoriasquare.com for further information. Earlier this year a cabin on Mudeford Spit beach in Dorset sold for £295,000, despite having no electricity, toilet or running water.
Figures compiled by business rates experts Altus Group found annual rents across all the huts had increased overall by 64% between 2010 and 2017.
The firm’s Robert Hayton said: “Long waiting lists mean sale prices can be high whilst councils are looking for increased incomes and are charging higher rents for the huts that they own.”
This rise is rents brought a jump in the rateable value of many huts, up 89% last year.