AS A Bournemouth beach hut owner I write to voice my support for the recent rise in ground rent.

We are in the midst of intense spending cuts and the council has an obligation to all residents to maximise its assets in order to alleviate these as far as possible.

Years of spending money that the country doesn’t have has resulted in the current situation and as a nation we now need to decide if we are happy to continue with cuts to services or, if not, then we have to pay for them by way of higher taxation – it’s as simple as that.

The decision to raise rents may seem unfair but surely it’s preferable to cutting services to, for example, vulnerable older people or children.

If beach hut owners find it hard to pay the increased ground rent they could let their hut for a few days in the summer – I’m not suggesting this is ideal but unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world and I for one don’t envy the council in having to make the difficult decisions they are currently facing.

NANCY CURTIS

Sea Road, Boscombe

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