Dream beach huts become nightmares as locals 'trapped' on toxic coast

Furious hut owners on one of Britain's most coastlines feel 'trapped' and unable to sell because of soaring fees.

In Heacham, Norfolk, hut owners have been hit with ground rent charges that have skyrocketed from £200 to £730 in just three years. The disgruntled owners are calling the council 'greedy', finding themselves caught in a 'vicious circle' of either coughing up hefty rents or surrendering their plots.

Their vibrant chalets have become almost unsellable, with new buyers expected to shell out a whopping £2k transfer fee. Adding insult to injury, pollution issues in the Victorian seaside village have led the Environment Agency to label the water quality as 'poor'.

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Heacham recently featured among a handful of other beaches that were dubbed. Holiday Park Guru unveiled its second annual Brown Flag Awards last week. Using official water quality data to select the ‘winners’, the firm has sent out tasteful brown flags to the worst beaches, so they can warn swimmers of the nastiness lurking just beneath the surface.

Warning signs dot the beach at Heachham, advising against swimming due to elevated levels of bacteria and other pollutants. Gary Hall, who has frequented his family's hut in Heacham since the 1980s, lamented: "It has taken away the community there and the companionship built up over the years.

"They have destroyed something special through their greed. People I have spoken to have said they would not touch them with a barge pole because of the high costs," he added.

Pam Slote, a retiree from Wisbech, expressed her frustration: "We feel incandescent and very cross." Beach hut plots are being relinquished back to the council as owners struggle to afford them or find a buyer.

David French, 78, is contemplating giving up his hut, remarking: "They are killing the goose that laid the golden egg."

A spokesperson for West Norfolk Council said: "While it is important to note that these are the conditions that all parties signed up to, we acknowledge that during the 10-year period of the leases, changing market circumstances mean that some of these conditions may not be as suitable as they were when agreed in 2016. We are sympathetic to the position of the owners and intend to address these issues during renewal discussions, in time for the leases to be renewed early next year."

Brown Flag Award winners

(In alphabetical order, with new entrants flagged 'poocomers')

Porthluney in Cornwall

Coastguards Beach, Erme Estuary in Devon (Poocomer for 2025)

Lyme Regis Church Cliff Beach in Dorset (Poocomer for 2025)

Southsea East in Hampshire

Deal Castle in Kent (Poocomer for 2025)

Dymchurch in Kent (Poocomer for 2025)

Littlestone in Kent

Blackpool North in Lancashire

St Annes North in Lancashire

Heacham in Norfolk

Weston Main, Weston Super Mare Sand Bay and Weston Super Mare Uphill Slipway in Somerset

Dunster Beach in Somerset

Blue Anchor West in Somerset (Poocomer for 2025)

Bognor Regis, Aldwick in Sussex

Worthing Beach House in Sussex (Poocomer for 2025)

Tynemouth Cullercoats in Tyne and Wear

Littlehaven Beach in Tyne and Wear (Poocomer for 2025)

Scarborough South Bay in North Yorkshire

Bridlington South Beach in East Riding of Yorkshire