Untitled Document

Our Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday 16 May at 3:00 p.m. at Holland Public Hall.

Sea Defences
The £1.2m sea defence work below Hazelmere Road is progressing well and is expected to be completed in June 2009.
Because the Environment Agency are not prepared to fund the whole £23,000,000 scheme that we desperately need Tendring District Council are having to take a piecemeal approach to the question of sea defence work. The plans for dealing with the next section after the Hazlemere Road work therefore are currently being worked on for presentation and ratification and if successful would then follow on, hopefully later this year.
The cost of the complete scheme originally put forward to renew the Holland-on-Sea sea defences and sand that was originally £23m in 2003 is now expected to reach £40m. It is unlikely to be ratified as any investment in sea defences needs to have a spend value of 10:30 in relation to property costs. Holland on Sea is clearly disadvantaged by relatively lower land costs.
Tendring District Council is committed to try and further the scheme and they are still hoping to convince the Environment Agency of the need for such a scheme. There is now a board in place to deal with the whole of the eastern coastline lead by the Environment Agency which is searching for matched funding to assist in its work.
For our part we are pressing and will continue to press TDC, the Environment Agency, the Government minister responsible, our MP and anyone else we feel might be able to help us.
Reduction of Site Fees
Because of the poor state of certain parts of the beach and the fact that on certain parts – G Section for example -there is no access at all, we have been pushing for a reduction or rebate in site fees for owners of beach huts in affected areas. Pierre Oxley, TDC Portfolio Holder for Leisure Services, promised that we would receive an answer in April. Confirmation has been received that there is no budget in 2008/9 to allow for a rebate, but this could be put forward for the 2009/10 year. Owing to recent council elections we will have to wait for any decision to be made by the new portfolio holder.

A section access, dog wardens and cycling.
Our information is that only A section gates are locked and unlocked, all the other gates remain locked.
Dog wardens are making periodic inspections to ensure dog owners adhere to the access and fouling rules and seasonal staff used to patrol the sea front can report issues to the warden for further action.
No Cycling signs on the promenade are being re-instated and should be enforced by patrols
Toilets at A block cannot be replaced due to the site being unsafe and soap will not be provided as if vandalized this can case a slip hazard.
Car Parking
Along with all the other Beach Hut Associations in Tendring we have continued to argue that beach hut owners who live outside the Tendring area should have the same car parking concessions as those from within Tendring. So far TDC have refused to agree to this.
They have also refused to agree that similar concessions for those who park in the car parks should be given to those in A section who use the parking bays. This is another issue we are continuing to push.

Section F have no bins at all and this has been reported to Leisure Service.
There is currently no concession for members parking at Holland Haven Car Park.
Members outside TDC area have to pay full parking rates instead of paying higher site fees.
Brian Merry asked members to ensure their huts are adequately insured as the cost of new huts has risen.
Members noted that some blocks of huts do not have concrete hard standing and the council was due to ensure all earth bases were replaced.
E block noted they have no green bin and C block did not have a green bin as at last week.
Can the committee chase TDC to take action on the older and un-maintained huts as bad repair encourages vandalism.
In the event of a storm, current access restrictions would make clear up very difficult if not impossible. Does the emergency planning officer have a solution for this eventuality?

Treasurer’s report
Renewal notices were a little late this year due to problems with the printer and the treasurer noted a new one will be required.
A new accountant has been engaged for the association’s accounts and cost savings made on this appointment.
Membership is currently 207, but could rise to 230 by the end of the year as the renewals are collected.
The treasurer also reminded the members of the discount available on their beach hut insurance that their membership entitles them to.

Security report
No serious reports this year, but there has been some damage to non-member's huts. One in J section reported damage to front.
Police are aware of Tower security patrols, These patrols should travel along the front and go down steps but they do not walk along the front. There should be 2 patrols in any 24 hour period, but not at specific times. Their reports to the membership state that they know the areas most likely to be targeted and can move the people on and report to the committee on a monthly basis.
There was concern at the meeting that some break-ins are not being reported at all and could the association employ someone directly to undertake the security. This was not a possibility as this would involve the association in liability and risk for the patrols.
A member offered a contact for other security provider and was asked to provide information to the damage control officer after the meeting.

Elections
Mr J Wells proposed that all committee members be re-elected en bloc
This was seconded and agreed.

Chairman thanked the meeting and noted that the Secretary post has still not been filled and should anyone be able to offer assistance in this area to let the committee know. (Subsequent to the meeting, Pat Clarke offered her services as Secretary which have gratefully been accepted!)

Subsequent to the AGM, the Chairman and Secretary met the new TDC Portfolio Holder for Leisure Services, Stephen Mayzes, and David Hall the Deputy Leisure Services Manager with responsibility for Beach Huts. We raised several of the points above.

The question of a rebate for beach hut owners in sections D and G because they no longer had access to a beach was raised. David Hall referred to “terms and conditions of lease” which said that payment was merely for the land on which the hut stood and did not give any mention of beach or promenade. We argued that although this was technically true, people had bought their beach huts when access to the beach was available and we therefore felt they were entitled to some recompense now they were unable to access the beach. David Hall said that some owners in Harwich had no access to a beach either. We discovered their site fees however are over £30 less than our members. Stephen Mayzes said he would consider this question further.

Car parking. We raised the issue of Holland Haven and Martello Bay Car Parks plus the ongoing problem for our members outside Tendring. As we expected we received the response that car parking was nothing to do with Leisure Services

We then raised the subject of the Coucil issuing improvement notices on those owners who had allowed their huts to fall in to a state of disrepair. David Hall agreed to follow this up but warned it could take some time to go through all the legal stages necessary.

No Cycling – We said that many owners are concerned that cyclists are using the promenade where “No Cycling” notices are clearly visible. David Hall said that Summer Wardens do the rounds but are obviously not always there at the right time. He suggested contacting the Police – PCSO section for assistance.

On the issue of access to beach huts with vehicles in case of emergency, David Hall said that should anyone be doing repairs, they shopuld contact the Council if they need access. Should anyone be using the services of contractors, the company should take materials as far as they can, then the Council, who have their own people, will take the materials to the hut. Emergency services have keys of their own.

In conclusion, Stephen Mayzes said he was glad to have the opportunity to meet us and discuss some of the issues affecting us. He said that when he has reviewed the situation regarding beach huts throughout Tendring, he will arrangea meeting with the Beach Hut Associations' Co-ordinating Committee.

Annual General Meeting: Saturday 16 May 2009

Meeting with TDC Leisure Services