I WAS very disturbed to read in Saturday’s Echo that the new administration is planning to build 15 new super hut between Bournemouth Pier and Fisherman’s Walk.

Bearing in mind each super hut will take the same space as two of the current huts, this will deprive 30 ordinary residents of their much loved huts in favour of 15 well-off residents and visitors who can afford the cost of the lease and service charge.

Rather strange, since the cabinet member with responsibility for this area is in fact a Labour councillor.

I thought they didn’t believe in ‘taking from the poor to give to the rich’ but perhaps the trouncing they recently got at the polls has made them rethink their ethos.

The council will probably say that all displaced hut owners will be offered an alternative site but in reality this doesn’t work.

Firstly, there don’t appear to be any sites left vacant that would be suitable and, secondly, even if they were there is no guarantee they would be situated in a convenient location.

This would mean current owners would have to go back on the waiting list and have to find, and pay, for somewhere to store their hut meanwhile.

Whilst I accept that the council has a responsibility to maximise its assets it doesn’t appear to be doing so in this case – quite the reverse in fact.

They are estimating a profit over the 25 years of £450,000. Currently, beach hut owners pay a rental of £1,090 per annum (excluding VAT) which, with 30 huts over the 25 year lease period, would generate a profit of £817,500.

Of course this doesn’t allow for any rises in rent.

I would suggest that someone needs to look at the figures again.

NANCY CURTIS

Sea Road, Boscombe