OFFICIALS behind ambitious plans for a new Bistro on the Beach and surrounding huts and “super huts” said existing tenants cannot be offered alternative sites in Southbourne.

Beach hut tenants in Southbourne have been told their licences are being revoked to make way for the £7million project.

The new facility would provide a larger restaurant and kiosk, improved public toilets, 17 overnight-stay beach lodges, three being described as “super huts”, and beach showers and cycle stands.

Andrew Emery, of the council’s destination development team, told a public meeting the existing building was “hanging by a thread” and said the project would be on exactly the same footprint.

However, concerns were raised about the existing beach hut tenants with some setting up a petition against the revoking of their licence.

Mr Emery said: “The 14 tenants have been contacted and we have offered them alternative sites on a first come, first served basis.

“I am very aware that many of those tenants would ideally like to be relocated in the Southbourne area, that is not possible because once the site is demolished the council will only have two beach huts in the area.

“The rest of the huts are a mixture of super huts, or they are private sites so there aren’t any other offers in the Southbourne area.

“We aren’t obliged to find alternative sites, but it is in our best interests, and we want to be looking after our tenants as best we can.”

Ann Gerrard, chair of the Bournemouth Beach Huts Association, said tenants should wait to see where they are being offered a spot and said it was a “difficult situation”.

She said: “We don’t own the land that our huts sit on, so we are not in a position to be able to object to it because that’s what’s in our tenancy.

“The fact they are offering alternative accommodation to these people, albeit in other areas, is quite a good thing, people will have to accept or not have a beach hut anymore.

“It’s a very, very difficult situation, I think people have got to remain open minded.”

The plans are being funded by commercial funding, Mr Emery said at the meeting.

A planning application will be submitted in the coming weeks, with demolition of the current building earmarked for Easter 2022, subject to approval.

Work on the new building would start in September 2022, with the development taking until the end of 2023 until its completion.