New Forest District Council’s planning committee has granted planning permission for the replacement of 119 beach huts at Milford-on-Sea at a meeting on 13 January.
Councillor Sophie Beeton, New Forest District’s Council’s portfolio holder for the environment, said;
I am delighted that we can now go ahead with this project to provide robust new beach huts that will stand up to the weather and meet the needs of the owners, while also making the most of Milford’s beautiful coastline for locals and visitors. The next step is for us to find a contractor who can realise our plans. If all goes well we expect work to begin on-site in the spring.
New images of the scheme by the council’s design team of Ramboll UK Ltd and Snug Architects have also been released.
The scheme:
Planning permission has been granted for 119 beach huts on the seafront at Milford-on-Sea, replacing the huts that were severely damaged in the violent storms of 2014. The new huts are designed to enhance the seafront, stand up to the challenging coastal conditions and meet the needs of beach hut users, local people and visitors.
The replacement huts will be set back into the upper promenade which will be extended out over the huts, reducing their exposure to the elements and enabling visitors to enjoy spectacular views of the Isle of Wight from the upper prom. The lower promenade will be widened, improving access, providing further protection to the huts and removing the hazardous gap that existed between the upper prom and the old huts. A slim stainless steel balustrade positioned a short distance from the edge of the extended upper prom and angled backwards will protect the public and the privacy of the beach hut users below.
To stand up to winter storms the huts will be built of concrete in three terraces positioned further west than the old huts. There will be no huts at the eastern, most exposed end of the prom, resulting in open views from around the Needles’ Eye Café. The huts will have coloured wooden doors painted in a colour chosen from an agreed palette of colours.
