Worthing beach hut tenant criticises council after being denied rent refund given to others

Coronavirus restrictions meant Doug Anderson and his wife, who live in Broadwater, did not use their beach hut on Worthing seafront throughout the first national lockdown last year.

Later that summer, when he heard that neighbouring tenants had been given a rebate, Doug petitioned the council for one too – but was refused.

In an email to Doug, seen by the Herald, the council said: “There was a three-month period whereby anybody asking for a refund was given a refund... The Council did not publicise this situation, it responded to individuals as and when a request was received. Once the three month window period ended any outstanding requests were processed but no new requests can be accepted.”

Doug said the policy was ‘really poor’.

“They should have contacted everybody,” he said.

“It’s the fact that they decided not to tell all owners and then close the window at the end of it.

“I really don’t understand how they can be so inequitable.

“You have to give it to everybody or not at all.”

With rent costing almost £1,500 a year, the three-month rebate would amount to more than £300 – which Doug, a marketing manager, said he would have welcomed considering his wife had been furloughed from her job as a theatre manager.

“The beach hut, with its exorbitant rates, was a difficult thing for us to get the money for this year,” he said.

A spokesman for Worthing Borough Council said: “We know the council-owned beach huts on the seafront are incredibly popular.

“Demand is high and the waiting list is years long.

“We also recognise that this past year has placed some households under real financial pressure which is why we allowed tenants impacted by COVID to apply for a three-month rebate for part of 2020.

“That deadline has now passed.

“We remain in ongoing dialogue with the customer about their individual circumstances and hope to resolve this as quickly and fairly as possible.”