27/01/10 Beach Hut Vandalism - Tankerton

Canterbury City Council and Kent Police met local beach hut representatives last week to discuss the vandalism at the Tankerton huts over Christmas.

The meeting on Monday 18 January started with a site visit at the huts, and was followed by a meeting at the harbour offices that considered additional ways to protect the huts.

Damage to beach huts is a historic issue and reflects their vulnerable position on the coast. The meeting with hut owners took a positive and realistic approach towards the problem and discussed a number of proposals, which the council and police are now considering. Both organisations also reaffirmed their commitment to reducing incidents of vandalism and catching offenders.

The meeting acknowledged that some of the huts are vulnerable due to their design. Advice on protecting huts and recommended design guidelines will be sent out to all beach hut owners with the new licence agreement in April.

Canterbury City Council’s Community Safety Officer, Graham Simpson, said: “It was a very productive meeting, and while there is no one magic solution to the problem, we will be working hard with the beach hut owners to find new and better ways to prevent damage occurring.”

Sgt Dave Brenchley said: “The beach hut owners are realistic and know that we cannot patrol the area every day and night. They appreciate that the local community also have other priorities for our officers. There are things we can do and measures that the hut owners can take to make their huts more secure. At the end of the day we all want the same thing – undamaged beach huts.”

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