Anger over bid to build three modern beach huts worth £1.1m at Jurassic Coast world heritage site
- Roy Parker plans to erect the timber chalets on the Dorset coast
- Buildings would sit on the end of an iconic row of 14 similar chalets that have been there since before the Second World War
- Neighbours are furious that the huts will 'blight' the landscape
- Officials from the local parish council have also objected to the application
A bid to build three luxury beach huts costing £1.1million along Britain's historic Jurassic Coast will 'blight' the beautiful shoreline, furious neighbours claim.
Businessman Roy Parker plans to erect the timber chalets on a patch of grass next to his own £575,000 holiday home in West Bexington, Dorset.
The three buildings would sit on the end of an iconic row of 14 similar chalets that have been in position since before the Second World War.
The row of 14 other beach huts at West Bexington has a controversial history.
Planning officials failed to realise a replacement building was nearly twice the size of the previous one
The three buildings would sit on the end of an iconic row of 14 similar chalets that have been in position since before the Second World War
The exclusive huts would each cost about £20,000 to build but would have a market value of £350,000 at today's prices.
The 20ft x 20ft properties can be slept in overnight, will enjoy direct access to the beach and boast stunning views of the English Channel.
Mr Parker, 75, a former director of Leicester City Football Club, has recently put his own a holiday home next door to the site on the market as neighbours say he rarely uses it.
But they are furious that he may leave them with three huts that will ‘blight' the landscape and encourage speculative developers to build similar properties.
Neighbours believe the three huts will 'blight' the landscape and encourage speculative developers to build similar properties
The three new beach chalets (not pictured) will be big enough to have bedroom accommodation but they can't be lived in year round
Sue Nichol, who owns a property in West Bexington, said: 'Now this area has been designated a World Heritage Site it is inevitable it will attract investors who wish to cash in on this opportunity.
'This would be the thin end of the wedge.
If this application succeeds there will be further applications for huts.
'People will think ‘if these three huts went up then why can't I do the same?'
'Modern beach huts will be detrimental to the apparance of the coast and have an adverse impact on views to or from the site.
'Mr Parker has this plot of land just sat there and is chancing his arm by putting a planning application in. He lives in Leicestershire, he doesn't care what happens to the site.'
The 20ft x 20ft properties can be slept in overnight, will enjoy direct access to the beach and boast stunning views of the English Channel
A report submitted with the application states that the new chalets will represent an 'enhancement and logical finishing of the line of beach chalets'
Mr Parker said because it adjoins the existing row of chalets the new buildings would naturally fit in to the landscape
Officials from the local parish council have also objected to the application, stating it would be an overdevelopment on an area of outstanding natural beauty.
The three new beach chalets will be big enough to have bedroom accommodation but they can't be lived in year round.
It is thought Mr Parker would look to let them to holidaymakers rather than sell them.
He claimed that chalets had been earmarked for the 100ft by 60ft parcel of land for years but nothing had ever been done.
He said because it adjoins the existing row of chalets the new buildings would naturally fit in to the landscape.
YOU WANT HOW MUCH?
WHY BEACH HUTS ARE COSTING A PRETTY PENNY
You'd be forgiven for thinking a one bedroom cabin costing £350,000 is a unique lot on the housing market.
But, in parts of the UK, information system these tiny ‘properties' come with massive price tags.
Boasting ‘near by' taps and shared showers, it's amazing how much we will pay for some sand beneath our feet and a view of the sea.
We take a look at three of the UK's most expensive beach huts...
1.
A kitsch baby blue beach hut measuring just 23ft by 6ft in Shaldon, South Devon comes with breathtaking views of the village harbour and a whopping £245,000 price tag.
This luxury cabin comes with under floor heating, a marble wet room and electric windows which automatically close when it rains.
The quaint huts can be hired out to tourists for £90 a night.
2. A one-room former harbour master's hut (pictured below) was put on the market for the eye-watering asking price of £250,000.
The hut at Rozel Bay Quay, Jersey, boasts views across the harbour of the fishing port and as far as France.
3.
A bottle green beach hut in East Anglia went on the market for a whopping £70,000.
Holidaymakers visiting Wells-next-the-Sea has steps down onto the beach, where scenes from the Hollywood blockbuster Shakespeare in Love, were filmed.
The hut also boasts royal links, as footage of a young Prince Charles and his sister Anne playing on Holkham beach emerged last year. Despite its lofty connections, the hut boasts a 'close-by' water tap and a lavatory block for the beach.
A report submitted with the aplication by Mr Parker's planning agent states that the new chalets will represent an ‘enhancement and logical finishing of the line of beach chalets.'
The row of 14 other beach huts at West Bexington has a controversial history.
Four years ago the local planning authority, West Dorset District Council, mistakenly gave permission for one of the 14 chalets to be demolished to make way for a new one.
The planning officials failed to realise the replacement building was nearly twice the size of the previous one until the work was nearly complete but by then it was too late.
