Latest news with #beachhut
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Dig this! Tiny beach hut buried deep into sand dune will set you back £150,000 - and you can't sleep there overnight
A tiny beach hut buried deep into a sand dune has been listed for an eye-watering £150,000 despite its new owners being unable to sleep there overnight. The beach-side shelter is smaller than a standard parking space at just 10ft by 8ft and stands on stilts driven into the sand on Abersoch beach in North Wales. With no running water, gas or electricity, the hut has no furniture inside and is surrounded by sand, with sturdy sleepers to the rear preventing it from being swallowed up entirely. There are also no steps up to the tiny 'garden shed' meaning that the new owners will be forced to trudge up the sandbank in order to get to it after having a sea dip. And sleepovers are also banned, meaning that its owners will be restricted to simply daytime use. It does, however, offer stunning views of the seascape on the sandbanks, alongside the picturesque Cardigan Bay. Described in the listing as offering 'beautiful panoramic views across the bay towards St Tudwals Islands and Machroes Beach', estate agents Beresford Adams, who are managing the sale, described it as a 'fantastic opportunity' for buyers. They added: 'This is a modern constructed hut built some four years ago lying about 200 yards towards the Yacht club end of the beach from Footprints Cafe down Golf Road. There are also no steps up to the tiny 'garden shed' meaning that the new owners will be forced to trudge up the sandbank in order to get to it after having a sea dip. It does, however, offer stunning views of the seascape on the sandbanks, alongside the picturesque Cardigan Bay 'The hut lies along the sand dunes just slightly set back from the front line huts, enjoying magnificent views across Cardigan Bay to the Moorings and the St Tudwals Islands.' Alongside the asking price of £150,000 the new owners will have to pay £450 a year in rates to the local council. While seemingly expensive, the cost appears to be just £8,000 less than the average cost of a terraced home in Gwynedd, according to figures by the Office of National Statistics. Meanwhile, in 2023 a 8m by 3m hut long the same stretch of beach sold for £250k, valued at £50,000 more than the average house price in the country while also exceeding the average price for entirety of Wales. The plot the small shack resides on has been owned by the same family for generations. It has been listed by the current owners, who have had it for 40 years, as they use it a limited amount. Martin Lewthwaite, of Beresford Adams, described Aberscoch as an 'affluent area' comprising of several holiday homes by residents from Manchester and across Cheshire. Its frequent visitors include the likes of Coleen Rooney who in October 2023 posted several pictures of both her and her children with the caption: 'Always the best time in Abersoch'. Mr Lewthwaite added: 'There are about 150 huts on the beach and they are a bit like garden sheds.. You can't stay overnight in them so they are for storage really. The plot the small shack resides on has been owned by the same family for generations. It has been listed by the current owners, who have had it for 40 years, as they use it a limited amount 'They are very accessible by car and this hut is about 200 yards from the car park. 'This hut is set back from the beach and built on stilts into the dunes. 'There are big sleepers behind it to keep the weight of sand back but with strong winds the sand can gather around the sides. The hut was only built four years ago and comes with a timber balcony to the front.' In May, a tiny patch of sand nestled between beach huts on Porth Mawr in Abersoch went on sale for £100,000, the price of a flat or even a small house in parts of the country. The location had previously housed a wooden shack too but this was damaged in storms and pulled down by the owner. Planning permission has been secured from Cyngor Gwynedd for a new beach hut despite it being branded an 'overdevelopment' by Llanengan Community Council. The piece of land is on the market with Elvins Estate Agents who say it 'beautiful panoramic views across the bay towards St Tudwals Islands and Machroes Beach'. In May, a tiny patch of sand nestled between beach huts on Porth Mawr in Abersoch went on sale for £100,000, the price of a flat or even a small house in parts of the country They said: 'An exciting opportunity to acquire a beach hut plot on Abersoch main beach with planning permission to build a new hut. 'Benefit from owning your own part of Abersoch beach with the convenience of storage and shelter at the waters edge. Beautiful panoramic views across the bay towards St Tudwals Islands and Machroes Beach.' Meanwhile just last year, one of Britain's most expensive beach huts sold for £485,000. The turquoise-coloured shed on Mudeford Sandbank in Christchurch, Dorset, measured just 215 sq ft. This means the hut was worth £2,255.81 per sq ft. A square inch in the hut cost £15.60. The average price in London's most expensive area, Knightsbridge, is £1,557 per sq ft, according to HM Land Registry. The UK average is £300 per sq ft, meaning the Mudeford beach hut is 651 per cent more expensive than the average British home. The beach hut's per-foot volume even beats the average in expensive cities globally, including Manhattan and Hong Kong. Per sq ft, the Dorset beach hut is worth almost double the Manhattan average of £1,100 and is more expensive than the Hong Kong average of £1,612. 'This is where it starts to become bonkers', says Marc von Grundherr, at London estate agent Benham & Reeves. 'We're talking about some of the most expensive property in the world.' Increased demand for beach huts in areas such as Abersoch (pictured) is understood to be driving up the extortionate prices of the hut. In 2024 alone, the price of beach huts increased by 7.9 per cent While it has the benefit of direct sea access, the hut's new owners will not have running water or gas in the huts. 'Beach huts are just wooden sheds, which wouldn't cost more than £2,000 or £3,000 to build,' says Bob May, of May's real estate agency in West Sussex. 'It's the location that gives it value.' Increased demand is understood to be driving up the extortionate prices of the hut. In 2024 alone, the price of beach huts increased by 7.9 per cent. The year before that the average price rose by 37.1 per cent, according to property firm eXp UK. By contrast, house prices saw an average 4.7 per cent rise last year. Describing the huts as 'quintessentially English', Von Grundherr added that they often have 'long-term value because people want to own something by the sea'.
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
'£250k for a beach hut in Southwold? That's bonkers'
A beach hut in a coastal town has hit the market for an eye-watering £250,000 - just £19,000 less than the average price of a home in the as "beautifully presented" by estate agent Durrants, the grey and white wooden hut is located at South Green in a quarter of a million pounds for a seafront cabin may seem to be a staggering amount of money, demand for beach huts has soared since the Covid-19 average cost of a beach hut in the UK is £45,000, so does the price tag attached to Helluvathing simply reflect a surge in popularity or a market spiralling out of control? 'It's bonkers!' Claire Baldwin purchased her beach hut in Southwold five years ago when they were "not worth as much as they are now"."Southwold is just a really beautiful place and Suffolk is a lovely part of the world but the prices have gone crazy in the last few years," she told the BBC."A quarter of a million pounds is a bit ridiculous but people will pay it - it is bonkers."Mandy Moyes added: "I'd love to have a beach hut myself and if money was no object then I would definitely buy one," she said."I recently bought a shed for a £1,000 and I thought that was a lot of money." 'Price of a house' Holidaymaker Annette McCullian described the price of beach huts as "shocking"."When you think people cannot afford houses but people are spending that money on beach huts, she says. "It is the price of a house but if somebody wants it, and they have the money, then they will buy it."Even £40,000 sounds a lot… but I've got a nice little spot here, in the shade, for free." 'Just a shed on the beach' Claire Brier, 69, who has lived in Southwold for 25 years, said owning a beach hut was "becoming a competition and not one I am prepared to go into"."It's just bonkers and really anyone who has got that sort of money should be having a serious talk with themselves about how they spend it," she Scale, 34, said being able to use her friend's beach hut four times a year was a practical option when heading to the beach with her young she loves what beach huts can offer, she told the BBC that £250,000 for one was "an outstanding amount of money that could be spent on something better"."I think beach huts should be valued at about £10,000 because at the end of the day it is just a shed on the beach – the cost has gone up astronomically." 'Wonderful' Charlie Papworth, head of residential and commercial sales at Diamond Mills estate agents in Felixstowe, told the BBC "they are so much more than a shed"."It is a luxury and some people remortgage their houses to buy these things so it's worth what people are willing to pay," he said."Is someone willing to pay £250,000? Time will tell." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Illegal camper spat at and pushed over a beach hut owner in violent confrontation in Bournemouth fracas
An illegal camper spat at and pushed over a female beach hut owner during a violent outburst, it has been claimed. Nathan and Carolane Davies say they were left shaken and angry by the ordeal outside their prized hut at Bournemouth Beach in Dorset. The Davies' arrived at their hut at about 3pm on July 4 to find a man's tent pitched right up against it. They moved it about eight inches, so it wasn't touching their hut, and Mr Davies went to find a seafront ranger to report it. He said he was about 150 yards away when he saw a man get off a bike and start pushing his 59-year-old wife to the ground. Describing the alleged attack, 60-year-old engineer Mr Davies said: 'As I turned, I saw a man who I assume had been staying in the tent ride up on a pushbike and jump off right in front of my wife. 'All she said was "you can't have your tent there"... He spat in her face, pushed her to the ground and started shouting abuse at her. It was shocking and completely unacceptable.' 'Some nice guys came off the beach and surrounded her to stop him getting to her but he was swearing and calling her all sorts. 'He said 'that's my f**king home, I just got out of prison, where am I meant to live'. Someone who walked past said 'you're out of order mate' and he chased after him and punched and kicked him on the ground, he really beat him up. Mrs Davies suffered a cut to her arm and banged her head in the alleged attack. Mr Davies called the police and seven officers attended, but his wife did not want to press charges so police gave the man a dispersal order. The couple had waited seven years before they got their beach hut in 2020. They pay BCP Council £1,600 a year in ground rent. However, the pair say the increase in antisocial behaviour on the beach has left them feeling unsafe and they are contemplating getting rid of their hut. Mr Davies said they had seen a rise in people camping illegally on the seafront, an act banned by a local by-law that is aimed at protecting local hotels and guest houses. Over the heatwave weekend dozens of tents could be seen pitched on the sand by the resort's pier overnight as tourists avoid paying for hotel rooms. There have also been complaints of youths dealing drugs behind the beach huts and using the space as a public lavatory. Speaking of the alleged attack against his wife earlier this month, Mr Davies added: 'My wife is not a confrontational person, she didn't want to press charges, she just wanted him gone. 'The police gave him a dispersal order, but it's only for 24 hours so he could be back there now. Do we just go down there with trepidation of what could happen? 'My wife is very upset by the situation, she wouldn't go down there on her own now. 'There are signs saying no camping, but they mean nothing because the council does nothing to enforce them. They put the onus on beach hut owners to get into confrontations with homeless people, which isn't right. 'I pointed out to police that there was another tent next to another hut and asked if they were going to do anything about that one and they said they can't because they haven't broken the law yet. 'So you have got to be assaulted before they will move someone on, it's absolutely despicable. 'We have been sitting there having a meal and seen people come off the beach and go behind the huts to wee. The whole place stinks of urine. I don't know why they can't put a fence behind the huts or something. 'The council just aren't doing their job. They removed the hut next to us years ago, which is why there is a gap. If they replaced it and got a new owner in then there wouldn't be a space for tents to camp. 'It makes me very bitter about how much I pay in ground rent when the council are so inept. 'I've asked before about moving but they said I would have to go back to the bottom of the waiting list, yet they have empty spots that aren't being filled.' Dorset Police received a report at 3.09pm on July 4 of a man acting aggressively on Bournemouth beach. A police spokesman said: 'The man was issued with a section 35 dispersal notice and he subsequently left the area. There were no further complaints made by other members of the public. 'Officers are continuing to carry out increased patrols in the area of Bournemouth beach and the pier.' Councillor Kieron Wilson, BCP Council's housing boss, said: 'We are aware of a small number of tents on the beach and are working closely with members of our homelessness partnership, community safety officers, and the council's housing and communities' teams to provide support where necessary to these people. 'Separate to this, the council will address any negative behaviours, working closely with our partners to keep our seafront a safe, welcoming and clean place to visit.'
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Telegraph
Illegal camper ‘pushed over beach hut owner and spat in her face'
A beach hut owner was pushed over and spat on by an illegal camper, her husband has claimed. Carolane Davies, 59, and her husband Nathan Davies, 60, have owned a Bournemouth beach hut for five years, after spending seven years on a waiting list. They a number of illegal campers have recently used the area surrounding their hut, for which they pay Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) £1,600 a year in ground rent. Mrs Davies was left with a cut to her arm after an illegal camper spat in her face and pushed her down at 3pm on July 4. The couple said they found the tent pitched next to their hut and moved it so it was not touching. Mr Davies said: 'We moved the tent about eight inches off the side of our hut, so it wasn't pressed right against it. Then I decided to go and find one of the rangers to see if they'd do something about it.' He continued: 'I walked about 150 yards away and realised my phone had no charge, so I turned back to get my power pack. As I turned, I saw a man who I assume had been staying in the tent ride up on a pushbike and jump off right in front of my wife. 'All she said was: 'You can't have your tent there.' He spat in her face, pushed her to the ground and started shouting abuse at her. It was shocking and completely unacceptable.' Passers-by were forced to block the man from attacking Mrs Davies any further. Mr Davies added: 'The police gave [the attacker] a dispersal order, but it's only for 24 hours so he could be back there now. Do we just go down there with trepidation of what could happen?' He said his wife was now too afraid to visit the beach hut alone, and accused the council of not doing enough to help. Mr Davies said: 'There are signs saying 'no camping', but they mean nothing because the council does nothing to enforce them. They put the onus on beach hut owners to get into confrontations with homeless people, which isn't right. 'I pointed out to police that there was another tent next to another hut and asked if they were going to do anything about that one and they said they can't because they haven't broken the law yet. 'So you have got to be assaulted before they will move someone on. It's absolutely despicable.' Mr Davies claimed beach-goers often go behind the huts to urinate, which makes the area smell. Dorset Police received a report at 3.09pm on Friday July 4 2025 of a man acting aggressively on Bournemouth beach. A spokesman for the force said: 'The man was issued with a section 35 dispersal notice and he subsequently left the area. There were no further complaints made by other members of the public. 'Officers are continuing to carry out increased patrols in the area of Bournemouth beach and the pier.' Cllr Kieron Wilson – Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council's portfolio holder for housing and regulatory services – said: 'We are aware of a small number of tents on the beach and are working closely with members of our homelessness partnership, community safety officers, and the council's housing and communities' teams to provide support where necessary to these people. 'Separate to this, the council will address any negative behaviours, working closely with our partners to keep our seafront a safe, welcoming and clean place to visit.'
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Tiny beach hut in popular staycation hotspot on the market for £120,000 - but there's a catch
A tiny beach hut in a popular staycation hotspot has gone on the market for £120,000 - but there's a catch. The blue and white striped chalet, known as Hut 319, is located on Thorpe Bay beach in Southend-on-Sea. Propped up on stilts on the sandy beach, it also has a balcony for enjoying the views of the Thames estuary. The is a maximum capacity for ten people, with pictures showing a small padded bench as a rustic sofa, a small kitchen with cupboards, a sink and a hob. The listing reads: 'As the hut sits opposite the Yacht Club and is east of the slipway, access to the beach is not obvious, so this part of the beach is normally much quieter than the main beach. 'Thorpe Bay Yacht Club is 100 yards away and membership would give you free parking, a bar with food and toilet and shower facilities. 'Or [a] five minute walk to Uncle Toms Cabin for food, drink, ice cream and toilets. 'Public seafront parking 100 yards. Stunning walks on the sand flats out to the Mulberry harbour at low tide to see seals, this stretch of the beach is the closest access to the Mulberry.' The is a maximum capacity for ten people, with pictures showing a small padded bench as a rustic sofa, a small kitchen with cupboards, a sink and a hob However, there is one catch for the person who decides to pay the six-figure sum - there is no toilet or bed with the nearest facilities 399 metres away. As the beach hut is located opposite the yacht club and is east of the slipway, the listing says access to the part of the beach it is on is 'not obvious' - meaning it usually remains quieter than the main part. Hut 319 is currently on the market with and is one of two beach huts currently being sold at £120,000. Owners of huts are currently blaming hikes in rates and taxes for a slump in the market. Last December, a wooden beach hut on a pristine Dorset sandbank was bought for £485,000 - making it one of Britain's most expensive. Local Jamie Smith, who has been documenting the huts, said at the time that prices had skyrocketed since he moved to the area five years ago. He added: 'They are just sheds, let's be honest! 'The reason they are so popular is because of their location. 'Since I've lived here the first sale was around 300k which I thought was ludicrous and they've just shot up. 'This recent one apparently sold in less than 24 hours. 'They're probably a good investment long-term but as for living you're not allowed to live in them for half the year.' The comments come after two other beach huts have been sold over the past year for £480,000 and £415,000 - both without a toilet, running water or gas. Over the past 20 years prices for beach huts at Mudeford have shot up from £80,000 to almost £500,000. Beach hut values have soared in value in the last few decades, thanks in no small part to the rise in staycationers since the Covid pandemic. The record price paid for one was £575,000 in September 2021.
