The sale and marketing of 70 new beach huts plots for Gorleston seafront has been approved by Great Yarmouth Borough Council under a £270,000 scheme.
Tonight the council’s policy and resources committee agreed to release a further £130,000 to meet the costs of building the huts and a £77,000 amenity block.
Each timber beach hut on the Lower Promenade will cost £2,500 to build and once they and the amenity block are constructed the council will spend £23,000 a year on utility costs, a part time beach hut warden service, cleaning, repairs and maintenance.
Council figures show each hut will have a ground rent of £750 a year on a 25 year lease subject to inflation, leading to a revenue surplus of £29,500 a year.
It is said they will sell for several thousand pounds each.
The original business case for the plan had cost £140,000, but that rose to £269,644.
Councillor Tony Wright did express fears of beach hut users encroaching on other parts of the promenade while fellow Labour councillor Trevor Wainwright said spending £20,000 on a warden and services seemed a “pretty low figure.”
The colourful huts will include a veranda at the front, and would be built of wood with a pitched roof. Planning permission for the huts is already in place.
The dedicated amenity block, with wash basins and toilets, will be available to hut owners.
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