Beach Hut Terms and Conditions (for new bookings made from 1^st October 2023)

The Licence

1.  The Licence shall be for the period referred to in your official invoice.

2.  The Licence fee for the said period shall be paid in full before a key is issued. The key must be returned to the Swanage Information Centre by 22:00 hrs (using the letterbox) on the date stated on the booking form, otherwise an additional charge will be levied of one day’s hire at the applicable rate, OR £20.00, whichever is the greater for late return. There will be a charge of £50.00 for a lost key.

3.  The Council may at any time without assigning any reason, terminate this Licence, and on doing so shall return to the Licensee the portion of charge paid in respect of any unexpired period. This could include examples of where customers have booked multiple huts for long periods.

4.  The Licensee will be held responsible for any damage caused to the beach hut, furniture, fixtures and fittings, otherwise than by reasonable and fair use. When absent from the beach hut, all electrical appliances, including lights with the exception of a refrigerator, must be switched off. Only two electrical plugs at any one time are permitted and a single extension lead may only be used where necessary for a refrigerator. 

5. The Licensee is responsible for all personal portable electrical appliances brought into the beach hut and should have them tested (PAT) before use, with an appropriate and in-date test sticker attached to the item. The Council reserves the right to remove items that do not have a valid PAT certificate, and to charge a fee of £100 to customers where their equipment has tripped the safety switch on the circuit due to faulty equipment being used in the hut.

6.  The Licensee shall not deposit or permit to be deposited in or near the hut any rubbish or other material except in such receptacles as may be provided by the Council for such purpose and shall not permit the hut to become dirty or untidy.

7. All litter and personal belongings must be removed from the beach hut upon departure.  Any cost incurred by the Council for cleaning, damage, waste collection and disposal, will be charged to the Licensee.

8.  The Council reserves the right to take any action which may be necessary for the protection of the beach hut, which includes entering the beach hut at any time, and also removing any belongings which may cause a danger or damage to the beach hut.

9.  The Council accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage to goods or articles left in huts.

10.  The Licensee shall not transfer this Licence to any other person and shall not allow any person to use the beach hut in return for payment.

11.  The Licensee shall not use or permit any persons to use the hut or permit it to be used or occupied:

(a) As a residence or as overnight sleeping accommodation.

(b) For advertisement display or sale of goods, products or services including religious material, unless by prior arrangement with Swanage Town Council.

12.  The licensee will be responsible for the good behaviour of all persons using the Beach Huts and for ensuring all users comply with the terms and conditions of the booking.

13. Beach Hut users who, in the opinion of the Town Council, cause significant nuisance, annoyance, inconvenience, or disturbance to the occupiers of neighbouring huts, or to the public may have their bookings cancelled with immediate effect with no right to refund or compensation.

14.  The Licensee shall not play or use, or permit to be used, in or near the hut, any musical or other instrument capable of reproducing music or other sounds so as to cause nuisance or annoyance to any adjoining or neighbouring Licensee of the Council or the neighbourhood, unless an event has been agreed by Swanage Town Council.

15.  There is reserved to the Information Centre Manager, acting as Agent for and on behalf of the Council, the authority not to accept an application for the hire of any beach hut.

16.  Smoking and vaping is prohibited in all beach huts and is strongly discouraged immediately outside the hut as it has a detrimental impact on other customers. The Council reserves the right to ask customers to stop vaping and/or smoking by the beach hut if, in the view of the Council, this is causing a nuisance to other customers. If customers continue to cause a nuisance to other customers, clause 13 of this licence may be invoked.

17. The beach huts are designed for small groups of people and customers are asked to be respectful to other customers.                      The Council reserves the right to ask customers to reduce the number of people outside the huts if, in the view of the Council, this is causing a nuisance to other customers. If customers continue to cause a nuisance to other customers, clause 13 of this licence may be invoked.

18. The use of gas appliances and barbecues is not permitted in or around the beach huts.

19. The beach hut should always be locked when unattended and all equipment provided by the Town Council should be stored safely at all times.

20. Beach hut bookings should be made only by those over 18 years of age.

21. Personal data collected by the Town Council will only be used for the management of the beach huts and to inform customers about future beach hut booking releases. The Town Council’s Privacy Policy provides further information. If you would like to unsubscribe from our mailing list, please respond to [email protected] stating ‘UNSUBSCRIBE - BEACH HUTS’.

Booking Fees and Regulations

All communications should be addressed to the Swanage Information Centre, The White House, Shore Road, Swanage, BH19 1LB. Telephone: 01929 766018, or: [email protected]

1.  Weekly bookings commence on a Saturday at 9:00 hrs of the Licence period, to 22:00 hrs on the last day of the Licence period (Friday). For bookings of less than one week, the licence runs from either 9:00 or 10:00 hrs (depending on the day of the week) on the first day to 22:00 hrs on the last day.

2.  Full fees are payable on confirmation of booking. Refunds will not be made in respect of a cancellation received less than 30 days before the booking date, except in exceptional circumstances in which case it must be authorised by the Visitor Services Manager and documentary evidence may be requested.

3.  An administration charge of £30.00 or 20% of the total booking fee, whichever is the greater, will be made in the event of any change of booking, or if a refund is requested which is more than 30 days from the booking date.

4. All requests for booking changes or refunds must be made in writing through the advertised ‘online form’ or through the Swanage Information Centre.

5.  Bookings not claimed 48 hours after the start of the Licence period will not continue to be retained. In such cases, the customer will be contacted by the Council, unless they have previously been advised by the customer of any extenuating circumstances. No refunds will be provided in these cases, unless authorised by the Visitor Services Manager due to exceptional circumstances.

6. Bookings of ‘annual’ lets (the whole year) are restricted to one beach hut per customer.

Please be aware

Dogs are not allowed on the beach from the 1st May to 30th September inclusive.

The launching of boats from the beach opposite the beach huts is prohibited.

Licensees launching boats should use the Town Council's Boat Park.

The Licensee is permitted to use any of the taps on the Promenade and is requested to use the same with care to avoid waste of water.

Revised 11th October 2023