PLANS for four new beach huts and a ‘seaside play garden’ at Flaghead Chine have been created by Poole council.

The works will form part of the Seafront Development Programme, a £6.6million investment in Poole’s seafront partly funded by a grant from the government’s Coastal Communities Fund.

The proposals for four new beach huts at Flaghead Chine were previously submitted and withdrawn, and the new plans include a garden feature and play area next to the beach huts.

It features planting, stone blocks for sitting and carved stone shells at the entrance to the chine to provide an opportunity for ‘sensory play’. Benches will be integrated into the planting to create multiple seating areas for small groups of people.

The four huts will be arranged in a crescent to ‘maximise sea views’.

The council has estimated a total budget of £50,000 for the construction of the seaside play garden. If plans are given the go-ahead, work is expected to start after Easter and take six to eight weeks. The beach huts should be installed just before the garden is completed.

In a planning statement, the borough said: “As a condition of the planning permission for these huts we are creating a new ‘seaside play garden’, which will greatly improve the public realm at this site providing a place for sensory play, an area of seating and somewhere memorable and recognisable along this section of shoreline to meet and gather with friends.”

The beach huts, which feature pitched roofs, will be available to rent from the council on an annual, short-term basis.

In a design and access statement, the borough said: “As the huts will be set back from the retaining wall, overshadowing of the cliff is minimised which in turn protects nature conservation features and the habitats of potential European protected species.

“Externally the huts will be timber clad with glazed doors. The roof will be felt or similar material. It is considered that the proposals reinforce local distinctiveness and respect the shoreline character.”

As part of the borough’s seafront plans six new huts have already been constructed in Sandbanks.

The scheme will see 145 new huts built, 147 dated huts rebuilt and 28 revamped across the borough’s beaches.

As well as the four at Flaghead, 94 beach huts are set to be built at Canford Cliff West, 37 at Canford Cliff East and four at Branksome Dene.