Dorset beach hut owners hit by big bills

Description:

Owners in Bournemouth have previously paid a ground rent to the council of about £55-a-year. But the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has decided to rate each hut as a non-domestic property and sent letters requesting the extra funds.

Hut owner Anne Gerrard said she felt the council should do more to help and is demanding a meeting with officials. She said: "We are just not being treated with any respect. Bournemouth Council need to give us answers, we want a meeting so we can all get together face-to-face and discuss it."

Some of those affected may be able to claim small business rate relief and receive a 50% cut in their bill.

Bournemouth Borough Council said the issue was out of its hands and it would not reduce its own rental rates to compensate for the increases.

It said it still had a beach hut waiting list of more than 1,000 people despite the rate changes. Councillor Beverley Dunlop, member for tourism, said: "What's happened, in my interpretation, is the valuation office has recognised there are some valuable sites on there and the decision has been made to apply individual rates to them."

A VOA spokesman said it had a statutory duty "to assess all non-domestic property for rates purposes". "If the occupation of a beach hut fulfils the appropriate tests to warrant an individual assessment, then the VOA has a statutory duty to maintain the rating lists accordingly."