Welcome to the Clacton and Holland Beach Hut Association web page

The Clacton and Holland Beach Hut Association looks after the interests of beach hut owners in Clacton and Holland. We hold two meetings for all members per year and the committee meets monthly to deal with ongoing issues. Membership is £20 per annum per hut. We are members of the Tendring Beach Hut Owners Forum where we meet with the Associations from other resorts in Tendring to discuss matters of common interest.

Committee members are:

Norman Jacobs (Chairman) Tel: 01255 426115

Doris Bailey (Treasurer) Tel: 01255 812058

Susan Ashman Tel: 01255 818018, Corinne Simons, Brian Merry and Alison Lee

If any members spot any damage to any of the huts could you please phone Susan Ashman on 07946561189 who will notify the hut owner.

 

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Clacton and Holland Beach Hut Association was held on 17 May. Aproximately 40 members attended.

Following the AGM several issues arising at the meeting were put to Tendring District Council. This is their reply:

1. Erosion and the need to get DEFRA to come up with some cash!
Following a very extensive study project funded by the Ministry, Strategy proposals have been with DEFRA since 2004. The proposed work is phased and total costs were originally about £30m (though now considerably more). The work is in competition nationally for a limited treasury budget of about £600m. Prioritization of schemes is carried out by an assessment of the proposals in terms of effect on people, the environment and the cost /benefit analysis. The works at Holland score 13 points which is not enough to qualify for the limited funds available. DEFRA have stated that the strategy scheme cannot be afforded and have instructed the council to submit alternative piecemeal proposals intended to hold the line in the medium term. The first of these schemes is currently under design and the intention is to rebuild 150m of the wall below Hazlemere Road as soon as possible Subject to all permissions and grant approval, this will be in place by next summer. The cost is about £1.5m

2. Some areas G section in particular - has no access to the beach and don’t see why they should pay full license fees and rates as they have facilities at all.
At present there is to be no reduction in rates or License fees, however a full assessment be carried out at the end of the 2008 season.

 3. Although the lower road is closed to traffic necessitating the removal of bins to the top, many members say they have seen Council Lorries and Wind Farm contractor's lorries driving along the road, so why can't refuse lorries.
The promenade is dangerous and could subside at several locations added to this loading by vehicles could actually trigger a collapse of the wall.

Engineering services vehicles do on occasions have to take access to complete repair work without which the walls may rapidly deteriorate and collapse such as the recent hole discovered at Hazlemere.This work is only undertaken if absolutely essential and a risk assessment is carried out each time. As far as is practicable Heavy plant is not used and vehicles are kept to the back of the promenade.

With regard to the wind farm work only a light vehicle was allowed on the promenade, it was instructed to stay at the back of the promenade and it was made clear to the contractor that all risk and any damage were the contractor's responsibility. The promenade was closed to the public during the work.

4 If the bins do have to be removed to the top, can there not be signs on the prom were the bins used to be explaining why they have been moved and were they are now.
Since the bins have had to be moved to the top letters were sent to beach hut owners advising them of this as they are regular users of the promenade.  There are bins on the top of every access slope and therefore any user of the promenade will have to pass a bin either as they access or leave the promenade so they will be aware of the location of bins.

There are also general concerns in respect of signage on the seafront and the desire to reduce signage so as to provide clarity as if there is an excess of signs the messages are diluted.

5 Could not small litter bins at least be put down on the prom?
This matter has been previously investigated and has proved to be prohibitively expensive primarily due to the fact that the bins will have to be emptied on a more regular basis as they are small and also that the removal of the rubbish has to be undertaken manually as vehicles cannot enter these areas.  In addition there would be a significant cost for purchasing and installing the bins.

6 How many Rat boxes are there along the front? With removal of the litter bins rubbish is getting behind the huts and rats are returning.
Bait stations are strategically placed along the promenade area in response to investigation for the location of rats and reported sightings.  The stations are regularly inspected and baited with site specific baits to mimic the discarded food sources in the area which the rats find attractive.  Now the new season has been entered the poster campaign to highlight the link between littering and rats has been restarted to help ensure there are less food sources for the rats. 

7 What is the current procedure for locking and unlocking of gates on the prom?
The only gates that are being locked and unlocked at certain times are the access gates for A section. At the moment they are locked at 10am and reopened at 5.30pm. By the seafront staff 1 May to September. All other access gates to the lower promenade are kept locked at all times due to the storm damage of the seawall and promenade.

8 Why does no one enforce the dog ban?
The dog warden employed by Environmental Services undertakes periodic inspection of the whole district and this includes inspections of sites where dog bans are enforce on the beaches.  Frequency of inspection is dependant on workload since for example dealing with reported strays would take priority over routine inspection as the issue is more pressing.

The dog warden will also respond to complaints and has in the past ensured that inspections are occur when reported complaints suggest breaches of the ban are likely to occur.

In addition Seasonal Seafront Staff, who may be more regularly on location on the beaches, can and have reported incidents of breaches of the ban and where appropriate a response has been made by the dog warden.

9. What Happened to the no cycling signs?
The no cycling signs are being reinstated at the moment by the seafront staff. This has been delayed at times due to poor weather.

10 Can't we have soap dispensers in toilets?
The provision of soap dispensers has occurred previously in the toilets and these have been repeatedly vandalised, being kicked off the wall, which results in soap being spilled on the floor which constitutes a significant slipping hazard.     

11. Although the York Road steps have now been repaired, some members in D Section said they understood they were going to be completely renewed not just repaired and that they are still not very safe.
Temporary repair work was instructed by leisure to enable the steps to be reopened for the season. They have been inspected and confirmed to be safe. Further work is to be carried out at the end of the season

The Committee will be considering this response at our next meeting.

If you need any repairs done to your beach hut please check out our repairs page.

If you wish to contact the Association e-mail normanjacobs@hotmail.com