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Officials have moved forward with plans to start charging beach hut owners the full amount council tax On this basis They are a second home.
Cash-strapped BCP Council exist Dorset A controversial policy to build 344 cabins on Mudeford Spit has been unanimously voted in favor. christchurchput in Council tax band A.
Councilors dismiss concerns from fed-up cottage owners who feel Local authorities use them as “cash cows”.
Mike Cox, the council’s cabinet member for finance, said hunters were sitting on a “very valuable asset” and they must prioritize helping “those least able to afford it”.
The highly sought-after cottage in Mudeford is the most expensive in the UK, priced between £400,000 and £575,000.
But they only sleep eight months a year and have no running water. electricity or toilet.
Cottage owners have to use communal toilets and showers, which they say are no longer fit for purpose and need to be upgraded.
With the tax reform approved, it means that from April, property owners will have to pay around £5,200 a year to the council.
Mudeford Sandbanks Beach Cottage Association said most of the owners are not wealthy but ordinary families whose cottages have been passed down through generations and were bought for as little as a few hundred pounds in the 1950s.
Darren Pidwell, chairman of the association, said: “We are extremely disappointed and frustrated.
“The committee made a predetermined decision without considering any of the sensible, reasonable and legitimate arguments that had been put forward.
“So we need to think about where we stand and what actions we want to take in the future.
“I’ve received so many emails from cottage owners with disappointing words. It’s truly unbelievable.
“For the vast majority of people on the beach, this cabin has been passed down from generation to generation.
“This will be a significant financial burden for many people.
“With insurance and maintenance, the cottage suddenly costs £7,000 a year.
“I think it’s going to push a lot of people into a breaking point if they say they can’t afford it or that things are not the same anymore and they don’t want to have this constant battle.
“These huts have no running water, electricity or sanitation. How can they be considered homes when they can only be lived in for eight months a year?”
The association has said it is considering legal action over the matter.
Members of Lib Dem-run councils say they face “extremely brutal” cuts from central government and must find more funding elsewhere.
Mr Cox said: “I do have great sympathy for the points made by Mr Pidwell and the association. But we have to focus our efforts on those who can least afford the costs.
“As far as beach huts go, they do sit on some very expensive property.
“I do have a lot of sympathy for people who have inherited this wealth, and it’s not necessarily personally wealthy, but at the end of the day it’s a very valuable asset that they have.”
David Brown said they need to find millions of dollars to fund coastal protection programs that would directly benefit cabin owners.
Andy Hadley said while water and sanitation facilities were funded by funds such as water charges, cottage owners were using communal facilities provided by the council.
He added: “Many second homes have premiums of 200%, and we will not make such a request to them.”
Richard Herrett said the previous government had promised to reinvest money back into facilities at Mudeford Sandbank.
