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Home / Lifestyle / Exclusive Beach Huts Turned Into 'Drinkers' Paradise' Amid Outdoor Seating Dispute

Exclusive Beach Huts Turned Into 'Drinkers' Paradise' Amid Outdoor Seating Dispute

Summary

  • Wealthy beach hut owners claim outdoor benches have turned their exclusive beach into a 'drinkers' paradise'
  • Complaints of 'drunken' and 'rowdy' behavior, as well as litter, on the previously family-friendly beach
  • Cafe seeks to make temporary COVID-era outdoor seating permanent, sparking backlash from hut owners
Exclusive Beach Huts Turned Into 'Drinkers' Paradise' Amid Outdoor Seating Dispute

In October 2025, a dispute has erupted in the exclusive Mudeford Sandbank community in Dorset, England over the installation of outdoor seating at a local beachside cafe. According to the owners of the area's expensive beach huts, worth up to £500,000 each, the eight new wooden benches have effectively turned the once-tranquil seaside into a "pub beer garden."

Hut owners have complained of "drunken" and "rowdy" behavior, as well as litter from plastic beer cups, spilling out onto the previously family-friendly beach. They allege the cafe is now serving alcohol throughout the day, rather than just with meals as originally intended, leading to an influx of "drinkers" and a deterioration of the area's peaceful atmosphere.

The cafe has applied for planning permission to make the temporary COVID-era outdoor seating permanent, but this has sparked a backlash from the wealthy hut owners. They argue the expanded footprint of the business is destroying the protected natural environment and wildlife of the Christchurch Harbour spit. One hut owner warned it is "only a matter of time before there is a serious accident" due to intoxicated boaters.

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Despite the cafe claiming the benches have the "overwhelming support" of the general public, the hut owners insist they are pursuing a "vendetta" against the local community. The dispute highlights the tensions between the exclusive beach hut owners and the wider public's access to the picturesque Mudeford Sandbank.

Disclaimer: This story has been auto-aggregated and auto-summarised by a computer program. This story has not been edited or created by the Feedzop team.

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The owners of the expensive beach huts in Mudeford, Dorset claim that the installation of outdoor benches at a local cafe has turned their exclusive seaside into a "drinkers' paradise" with "drunken" and "rowdy" behavior.
The beach huts in Mudeford Sandbank can be worth up to £500,000 each, with one two-story hut selling for £485,000 in December.
The hut owners say the outdoor seating has led to an influx of "drinkers" and "drunken" behavior, as well as litter from plastic beer cups, destroying the previously family-friendly atmosphere of the beach. They are worried the cafe's application to make the seating permanent will further damage the protected natural environment.

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