Borough of Poole is calling for residents’ views on how beach huts are rented out.

Currently, new customers face a ten-year waiting list if they wish to rent a Poole beach hut. The majority of the 1,138 beach huts are let out on an annual basis, but are re-let to the same person each year, often for very many years.

In July this year, cross-party councillors came up with a few ideas to reduce this waiting list. One such idea was to provide short-term lets for people wanting huts for shorter periods, such as a week.

Although changing a small number of long-term huts to short-term doesn’t shorten the waiting list, the council say this does make huts more accessible to more people.

As well as the possibility of building more huts, the council could introduce a ten-year cap on annual lets, and ensure those already renting will give a “good period of notice” for when they intend on leaving.

Bhbeat offers you these suggestions that were presented to the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 10th November 2011 and a report from that committee goes to Cabinet on 13th December 2011.

Councillor Judy Butt, Borough of Poole, said: “The Working Party decided not to consult with the public until proposals were developed to meet the objective of reducing the waiting list.

“On reading the full report and listening to comments from members of the public I feel it is now appropriate to consult on the issues arising to help us decide the best way forward.

“I would encourage residents to take part in this consultation and share their thoughts on the proposals put forward by Members.”