Council leader 'has not read' beach hut contract - and doesn't know cost of withdrawing from TV deal

And leader, Ray Nottage, said he had not read the contract with production company Plum Pictures.

At a full council Cllr Nottage said he “can’t tell the future” in response to a question about pulling out.

The question, from Ukip's Cllr Janet Abbott, followed 14 from campaigners about the contentious TV competition to build 12 beach retreats at Highcliffe.

A 1,400 signature petition calling for the scheme to be scrapped was also presented.

Responding to the question about withdrawing from the agreement, Cllr Nottage said: “I can’t determine at this stage if there will be any penalties associated.”

When the Daily Echo asked the council whether the leader had read the contract, a council spokesperson said: “No, councillors rely on the legal team of officers to advise on contractual issues.”

The meeting on Tuesday saw more than 100 residents pack the council chamber.

Responding to the public’s questions, the council also revealed they did not have the technical specification for the beach retreats before they approved the agreement with the production company in December. And no official site visit has been made.

Cllr Nottage: “All members are very familiar with the site and were content to rely on discussions between Natural England, coastal engineers and community and recreation officers to advise on the best specific locations within the general area of the cliffs.”

Querying approval for the TV deal, Independent councillor Colin Bungey said he was unable to remember any committee actually agreeing a contract. He asked for the minutes to be circulated “to refresh our memories”.

The council withdrew an application for the overnight beach huts from Natural England last week. No decision has been made over whether to submit a second application for day huts, an option the council is exploring.

For all the questions and answers see below:

1. Does this council consider that it has shown openness and transparency in its dealings with its residents in Highcliffe in respect of the project to build Beach Retreats on the cliff face? Davina Griffiths

Because of the commercial sensitivity of the agreement with Plum Pictures and the nature of the design competition, it was not possible for the Council to debate the proposals in open session.

The Council has a long history of community engagement and consultation, but there are times when those who are elected by the community have to take decisions based on the information before them without public consultation and based on what they believe to be the right solution for the whole community, not just those in the immediate vicinity of the proposal.

Similar decisions were taken when the Council chose to invest heavily in protecting the cliffs at Highcliffe from erosion many years ago and continues to do so to this day; this was not purely for the benefit of the people of Highcliffe but for the whole of our community in Christchurch. What you see today is not a natural environment, it is heavily engineered to provide protection and community accessibility.

If the Council had not done this work, we would have the truly natural environment that you can see if you look east into Hampshire which is completely inaccessible to the public and which continues to erode with every high tide or storm.

That is not to say that the coast protection work hasn’t incidentally created a well-established flora and fauna, but it is all manmade at this Council’s discretion and the surveys that we have commissioned suggest that the beach retreats would have minimal impact on the wildlife.

This Council has invested in the sustainability of the cliffs for future generations and the beach retreat proposal is just the next stage in that investment.

2. Joy Shellard, author and resident of Highcliffe wrote this book ‘Highcliffe’s Pot of Gold’ about the 120 different species of wild flower to be found of the cliffs. I quote from her book ‘we are indeed extremely fortunate to have an almost unbelievable variety of flowers in such a small area’. What is the council doing to maintain and protect such a rich environment? Susan Chitty

The current ecology of the site is a direct result of the works undertaken by this Council to stabilise the cliffs in the 1980’s and the subsequent reseeding with an engineering sward.

The footprint of the proposed huts will cover less than 0.3% of the total site and they will be accessed by existing hard surfaced paths. T

he management of the site as a whole will continue in the way it which it has been undertaken since it was created and will be enhanced by general recommendations for improvement made in the ecological survey’s that were undertaken as part of the application to Natural England.

3. The council is relying on ‘Permitted Development Rights’ to build the overnight Beach Retreats rather than applying for Planning Permission. You have been made aware of seven Local Authorities in England taking beach huts through the Planning process. Why does this council ignore the advice of Christopher Chope MP and Councillor David Jones, who have both stated that Planning Permission should be sought and the evidence from other Local Authorities? Nigel Brooks

The Council has taken appropriate advice and is confident that the beach huts can be built under permitted development rights. The projects identified elsewhere in Britain are completely different to this one.

4. The council has a duty to comply with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to protect endangered species. Further, the council’s Core Strategy Policy ME1 is to ‘protect, maintain and enhance the conditions of all nature conservation, habitats and species… including Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Adders, a protected species have been recorded on the cliff face. What action is the council taking to comply with its legal obligations? Ken West ​

The site is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its unique geological interest and not the flora and fauna. Two Ecological Surveys have been carried out and have identified that there will be no detrimental impact to the flora and fauna found on the site.

The reports go on to suggest improvements that could be made to the habitat found on site to increase their ecological value and the Council will endeavour to carry out the improvements that have been suggested.

5. The council has allocated over £130,000 of public money on this single project. Would you agree that its residents as stakeholders have a right to be consulted on the expenditure of such a large sum of money and be told the breakdown as to how this money is spent? Peter Rose

The sum of £130k breaks down as follows: up to £8,000 per designer for materials required to build each hut, plus up to £2,000 per hut for the construction of the base and any contingencies; with twelve huts this amounts to £120,000.

A further £10,000 will be used by the Council towards the provision of stand pipes and other infrastructure requirements which will benefit all beach users, not just hut users.

This represents extremely good value for money compared to the recent cost of building day huts elsewhere such as at Friar’s Cliff and Gundimore. In addition, it is estimated that this investment will be repaid in just over 2 years and that the huts will continue to make a substantial return for the council annually after that through the letting arrangements.

6. Why were members not provided with a copy of the ‘Christchurch Borough Council’s Beach Retreat Technical Specification’ to fully comprehend the scope and scale of the project before the Resources committee and Full Council Meetings on 2nd December and 15th December 2015 respectively? Alan Gordon

The specification for the beach retreats was not available for inclusion in the committee reports in December as it had not been written at that time. The Members were told that the huts would be overnight huts and of innovative design as part of a national design competition.

7. The coastal section from Friars Cliff to Milford on Sea forms one of Britain’s most important stratigraphic and Paleontological sites. The importance of the cliffs and coastline in Christchurch is underlined by 21 separate documents being listed on the ‘Coastal protection in Christchurch’ page under ‘Dorset for You’. Has a risk assessment of potential damage to the cliff face been undertaken and published? Peter Fenning

An engineering study was carried out by the Council Engineering Team who have been responsible for the management of the cliffs for many years, to establish the impact of the proposal on the stability of the cliffs.

The report identified a number of sites that could be utilised without endangering the stability of the site, this report was submitted to Natural England on the 6th June and made public on the 14th June.

8. The Christchurch Community Partnership, a community project, aims to improve economic, social and environmental well-being and quality of life of people in Christchurch. This is a key route for the council to consult with its residents. Why hasn’t there been any consultation with the Partnership with regard to the Beach Retreats project? Richard Chatterton

Christchurch Community Partnership is just one of many community groups and organisations operating in Christchurch and have no more important role than e.g. residents associations and other community groups in terms of consultation. The reasons that consultation in regard to this project was not possible have already been given in answer to Q1.

Councillors had, however attended consultation events run by Highcliffe Community Partnership in the autumn of 2015 regarding the future regeneration of Highcliffe at which beach huts had been suggested as a means of improving business in the local area.

9. Does the council agree that the proposed overnight Beach Retreats are in the wrong location and the agreement with Plum Pictures should be terminated and brought to an end forthwith? Raymond Brown

Natural England will have the final say on whether the sites proposed for the huts are suitable. The Council committees which considered the proposals for overnight huts at Highcliffe agreed unanimously that the agreement with Plum Pictures should be entered into.

10. How many councillors have visited and inspected the proposed locations of the overnight Beach Retreats on the cliff face? Stephen Graham

There was no organised site visit by Members prior to the decision being made in December 2015 but all Members are very familiar with the site and were content to rely on discussions between Natural England, Coastal Engineers and Community and Recreation Officers to advise on the best specific locations within the general area of the cliffs.

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 makes it clear that Local Authorities must take into account local conditions and sensitivities before using ‘Permitted Development Rights’.

11. Does the council consider it has taken this approach in agreeing the retreats proposal? Wendy Neil

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 received Royal Assent on 12th May 2016, only certain parts of the Act are currently in force. The Council’s Legal Section have not noted any sections in force in this Act that would be relevant to Permitted Development Rights relating to this project.

If you have further information relating to your question for example a particular section that you are referring to please can you forward it to the Council to consider?

12. Under the Building Regulations 2010 Schedule 2, Class 4 and 6, the Beach Retreats are not temporary exempt structures as they will be in place more than 28 days and will contain sleeping accommodation. Has the council assessed the retreat structures to comply with Building Regulations? Bob Forsdyke

It has been confirmed that due to the proposal for sleeping accommodation within the beach huts, a building regulation application will be required to be submitted to the Local Authority or an Approved Inspector. This requirement has also been communicated to Plum Pictures.

13. What level of Public Liability and All Risks Liability insurance does Christchurch Council have in place in the event of a claim arising from people occupying a retreat on the basis that Planning Permission was not obtained nor was Building Regulation approval? Malcolm Eastwood

Our insurers confirm that, on the basis that Planning permission is not required and that Building Regulation Approval is sought where applicable for the huts, we have adequate Public Liability cover of £25m

14. As stated by the Council what features of the retreats and their concrete bases will be in-keeping and enhance the landscape of the cliffs? Josephine Pollen

The specification for the beach retreats requires designers to consider the setting for the huts and to create designs that are in keeping with that setting. Until the winning designs are announced it is not possible to comment on what those details will be.