The controversial meeting to discuss the sell-off of beach huts by BCP Council has been postponed.

After days of waiting for a key report to materialise, the council has made the decision to cancel the meeting which was due to take place next week.

However, it was clarified this afternoon that because the agenda for the committee has been published, the meeting needs to be convened.

Members are being asked not to attend however, to render the meeting inquorate.

A clarification email from Graham Farrant, chief executive said: "We will then work with the members of the Committee to agree a new date."

No new date has yet been set.

Read more: Where IS the report for BCP Council's controversial beach huts meeting?

Leader of BCP Council, Drew Mellor emailed members this afternoon saying discussions were still continuing with the new secretary of state Greg Clark MP.

For the past three days, the Daily Echo has been asking the council where the report for the meeting is.

At no point were any ongoing discussions with a government minister mentioned.

Instead all the council would tell us is officers were working on the report and would circulate it as soon as possible.

Now, according to Cllr Mellor the council are still working with the government to finalise how they will fund their so-called transformation programme.

"(We) had expected that process to have concluded in conjunction for the update on our beach hut harmonisation / investment paper which we were looking to bring to O&S next week", he said.

Read more: Government 'alert' to BCP Council beach hut plan, says MP

"Because of the ministerial changes in Westminster over the last couple of weeks that process was temporarily paused but we have been able to positively pick those conversations up directly with the new minister this week."

However, the chairman of the committee, Cllr Lawrence Williams, contacted the leader this morning and raised the issue of the late report.

Cllr Mellor told members he had been "persuaded by his argument" and, alongside chief executive Graham Farrant, it was "decided that we will remove the paper from the agenda and resultantly I believe that means the meeting for next Wednesday will be cancelled."

He said: "We will liaise with the Chair of O&S to select an appropriate date to reschedule the meeting and will use that time to finalise the position with central Government.

"Ultimately the paper was destined to come through full council in the early autumn which will still be possible so there is no actual delay to the programme."

What is the plan?

BCP Council’s budget for 2022/23 outlined the plan to set up a company wholly or majority owned by the local authority, which would buy the beach hut stock.

This sale would give the council £54million and plug a financial gap in the ongoing transformation programme following the councils merger in 2019.

The company, which would be a special purpose vehicle (SPV), needs full council sign off before it can be formed.

BCP Council’s cabinet forward plan had listed the beach hut SPV down for its June meeting, however, this will no longer take place. 

The proposal is due to get to full council for final debate and sign off until September.

It also needs to go to cabinet before it can go to full council.