Bryson wades into storm over beach huts
BILL BRYSON, the writer, has joined a fight to stop 12 beach huts being built on the Dorset coastline as part of a Channel 4 television competition.
Bryson, 64, said the contest, organised by the producers of George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces to find the best designs for the huts, was “ill-considered”. He joins hundreds of residents in Highcliffe who are angry that permission has been given for the huts on the Site of Special Scientific Interest before it is known what they will look like.
Christchurch borough council was accused of being “star-struck” after it accepted the scheme under permitted development, which means they do not require planning consent, and without consulting residents.
In a letter to Friends of Highcliffe Beaches and Cliffs, an action group, Mr Bryson, who lived nearby in Mudeford in the Seventies, wrote: “It seems a very illconsidered plan from what I can see and the secretiveness of the council seems inexcusable.” A petition against the huts has gathered nearly 1,000 signatures.
The winners of the competition will be given £8,000 each to build the huts, which will then be rented out.
Residents and geologists have raised concerns about their effect on the cliff face and local sanitation. Jo Pollen, of the action group, said: “People are worried we could end up with something Barbie pink or a Darth Vader hut.”
Will Daws, of Plum Pictures, the production company, said there was “nothing offensive” about the designs. Matt Reeks, of the council, said it would be the “renaissance of Highcliffe”.