Our Norfolk beach huts are unsellable after the greedy council hiked ground rent fees. No one wants to buy them now - we've got no choice but to pay up
Furious beach hut owners on the Norfolk coast say they have been left 'trapped' by a council hike in ground rent fees - with no option but to pay up.
Property holders in Heacham, Norfolk, have been hit with annual ground rent charges soaring from £200 to £730 in the last three years.
The frustrated owners have now condemned their local authority as 'greedy' after finding themselves stuck in a 'vicious circle' of handing over more money or else giving up their plots.
They say their colourful chalets are now near-impossible to sell, with new owners potentially having to come up with £2,000 transfer charges.
The latest dispute follows problems in the Victorian seaside village which previously led to the Environment Agency branding the water quality there as 'poor'.
Signs around the beach warn swimmers it is unsafe to enter the water due to high levels of bacteria and other pollutants.
After the latest setback concerning the increased fees, regular visitors have told how decades of happiness at the huts are now being spoiled.
Gary Hall, who has been visiting his family's hut in Heacham since the 1980s, has now said of the price hikes by King's Lynn and West Norfolk Council: 'It has taken away the community there and the companionship built up over the years.
'They have destroyed something special through their greed. Due to the costs, people I have spoken to have said they would not touch them with a barge pole due to the high costs.'
Pam Slote, a retiree from Wisbech, said: 'We feel incandescent and very cross.'
Beach hut plots are being returned to the council due to people being unable to afford them and failing to find a new owner, locals told.
David French, 78, is considering giving up his hut and said of officials: 'They are killing the goose that laid the golden egg.'
A West Norfolk Council spokesperson said it was 'important to note that these are the conditions that all parties signed up to'.
But they added: 'We acknowledge that during the 10-year period of the leases, changing market circumstances mean that some of these conditions may not be as suitable as they were when agreed in 2016.
'We are sympathetic to the position of the owners and intend to address these issues during renewal discussions, in time for the leases to be renewed early next year.'
Heacham featured when England's 19 dirtiest beaches were last week named and shamed at the second annual 'Brown Flag Awards'.
Researchers at Holidayparkguru.co.uk looked at the Environmental Agency's summertime water quality data, based on about 7,000 samples at more than 400 bathing waters from the previous four years.
Those they dubbed 'Brown Flag' beaches had been rated 'poor' by the Environment Agency due to the amount of bacteria in the water caused by sewage and waste.
And the overall tally across England leapt from 13 last year to 19 in 2025, a 46 per cent rise.
Somerset and Kent have the highest number of Brown Flag beaches, with each county having three beaches on the list.
At the other end of the scale, Northumberland officially has the country's cleanest beaches.
Campaigner and swimmer Robbie Lane, from the firm behind the rankings, said: 'We had hoped that we'd be handing out fewer Brown Flags this year – but things have gone down the pan.
'Do your research this summer and you'll be saying, "Wish you were here", rather than, "Wish I'd worn a hazmat suit".'
Brown Flag Awards Winners 2025
In alphabetical order by county:
Porthluney in Cornwall
Coastguards Beach, Erme Estuary in Devon (Newcomer for 2025)
Lyme Regis Church Cliff Beach in Dorset (Newcomer for 2025)
Southsea East in Hampshire
Deal Castle in Kent (Newcomer for 2025)
Dymchurch in Kent (Newcomer for 2025)
Littlestone in Kent
Blackpool North in Lancashire
St Annes North in Lancashire
Heacham in Norfolk
Weston Main, Weston Super Mare Sand Bay and Weston Super Mare Uphill Slipway in Somerset
Dunster Beach in Somerset
Blue Anchor West in Somerset (Newcomer for 2025)
Bognor Regis, Aldwick in Sussex
Worthing Beach House in Sussex (Newcomer for 2025)
Tynemouth Cullercoats in Tyne and Wear
Littlehaven Beach in Tyne and Wear (Newcomer for 2025)
Scarborough South Bay in North Yorkshire
Bridlington South Beach in East Riding of Yorkshire
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