The following Terms and Conditions are applicable to everyone who joins a BCP waiting list whether for a licence to rent a council owned beach hut, or a site on which your privately owned beach hut will be positioned.
Waiting lists
The waiting list for a council owned beach hut, or site, is divided into separate beach areas along the seafront.
All waiting lists are independently administered.
No waiting list will exceed 500 applicants at a time. Closed lists will not reopen until the number of applicants waiting has fallen to 100.
BCP Council reserves the right to amend the waiting list terms and conditions at any time.
Eligibility to join
To be eligible to join BCP Council Beach Hut waiting list(s) you must satisfy the following criteria:
Applicants must be over 18 years of age.
Your place of residency must be within BCP Council area
You pay Council tax to BCP Council (unless exempt)
You appear on the Electoral Register as a BCP Council resident or have an exemption from compulsory registration.
Proof of BCP residency will be required at the point an available beach hut, or site, is offered to you and may be required at the beginning of each new licence period thereafter.
If your circumstances change and you no longer satisfy the eligibility criteria above, you are required to inform the Beach Hut Team by email or letter and your details will be removed from all waiting lists.
BCP Council reserves the right to amend the eligibility criteria at any time.
Process for joining a waiting list
The application fee is £50 for each waiting list that you join.
You can join as many waiting lists as you wish. A separate application fee will be payable for each list.
If you change your mind about joining a waiting list (s) there is a 14-day cooling off period which begins from the date your on-line application is submitted, during which your application fee(s) can be refunded.
Application fees are non-refundable, except within the 14-day cooling off period.
Each list is managed independently, therefore, should you apply to join several lists, your position on one list will not reflect where you are on another.
Applications can be made in one name only. Applications in joint or multiple names are not permitted.
In the event of an applicant’s death, the widow, widower, or partner (business partners are excluded) will be allowed to take their position on the list. No other applicant substitutions are permitted.
Transfers between different waiting lists are not permitted.
The offer process
When you reach the top of a waiting list, or you are the next eligible applicant, an annual licence for the next available beach hut / site in that location will be offered to you by email.
The offer will be sent to the email address you provided on your application. If this email address changes, please advise the Beach Hut Team as soon as possible to avoid losing an offer.
You will only receive one offer of a beach hut /site at a time, and you will be given 10-working days in which to respond.
Please reply to the offer via email, either accepting or declining it. If we don’t receive a response within 10 working days, the hut or site will be offered to the next eligible waiting list applicant.
The Council cannot be held responsible for email offers that are not received by the recipient.
Accepting an offer
If you accept the offer, you’ll be given information on how to sign up and how to pay for your beach hut or site.
At this stage, we will ask for a copy of your latest Council Tax Bill (your full name must appear on the bill for your BCP address) and/or confirmation that your name and address appear on the BCP Council Electoral Register. This is to confirm that you meet the eligibility criteria as stated above. We may also ask you for this at each licence renewal thereafter.
If it transpires that you do not meet the eligibility criteria the offer will be rescinded, and your name will be removed from all waiting lists. Please note your application fee (s) will not be refunded.
You cannot be a Beach hut or Site Licensee and on a waiting list at the same time, therefore, once an offer for an annual hut or site has been accepted your name will be removed from all waiting lists.
Only one beach hut is allowed per household – once an offer of a beach hut or site has been accepted, other applications associated with the same address will be removed from all waiting lists.
Preferences
From 1st May 2024, all new applications for Beach Huts and Sites are offered on a “next available” basis. We are unable to accept requests for specific beach huts or sites.
If you are disabled, have mobility issues or other health concerns, and require a specific hut type please contact the Beach Hut Team directly.
If you joined a waiting list prior to 30th April 2024 and have already stated hut preferences, these will be honoured where possible.
Declining an offer
If you decline the offer, you will remain at the top of the waiting list for that location until you have received a total of 3 offers.
If you decline all 3 offers or do not respond, you’ll be removed from the list for that location.
To re-join, you will need to make a new application and pay the application fee in force at the time.
Contact us
Bournemouth Beach Huts / Sites: Email:Bournemouth.seafront@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
Poole Beach Huts / Sites: Email: PooleBeachHuts@bcpcouncil.gov.uk