Are these the beach huts of the future?
The eco-friendly ‘pods’ that could be sprouting up on British coast
FOR most of us, a beach hut brings to mind something like a glorified garden shed with a coat of bright paint that’s seen better days.
However, developers have proposed a set of apparently eco-friendly huts perched halfway up a cliff that look nothing like their traditional counterparts.
The huts – or pods, as the developers like to call them – will be built in two tiers on a 100ft cliff next to upmarket Sandbanks in Poole, Dorset.
Inevitably, they’re not going to be cheap to rent – a traditional beach hut along the Dorset coast at Christchurch sold for £300,000 – but users can comfort themselves that they will be supporting the environment… or at least propping up the cliff.
The pods, which could be the future face of beach huts, will be clad in wood and sit on stilts that will act as pile foundations to improve the cliff’s stability.
Each will have balconies with views of the beach and sea.
However, they will not have toilets or showers and cannot be slept in overnight. This makes them more environmentally friendly, claim planning experts acting on behalf of landowner Flagcliff Management. In a submission to the local planning authority they also say that the huts will be of ‘an innovative, contemporary architectural form’.
Project designer James Munday added that they would be a ‘modern solution to a traditional British way of life that enhances the ecology’.
However, not all are convinced. One local resident said: ‘Part of the beauty of this beach is the greenery of the backdrop. Shoving a load of beach huts in this area will spoil this forever. We need trees, not more construction.’
The planning application for the cliffs at Flaghead Chine is still being considered by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.