Newsletter No. 58 – August 2023

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Working together to support West Mersea Beach Hut owners and to safeguard our environment.

WEST MERSEA BEACH HUT WATCH

Newsletter No. 58 – August 2023

What a “summer”! After a miserable May, we enjoyed sunshine in June and since then it has been pretty well a washout! I hope you have managed to take the opportunities to use your beach huts on the sunny days and between the showers and let’s hope there is an Indian Summer in the next month or so. Fingers crossed.

Despite the weather we have not been idle and we have continue to progress the work of the West Mersea Beach Hut Watch (WMBHW) through regular patrols, providing information to our members, maintaining regular dialogue with West Mersea and Colchester authorities and we are delighted to announce the launch of our brand new WMBHW Website; more about all this later.

We are also seeing more “traffic” through our email account which demonstrates increasing engagement and a willingness to share your feedback – please keep it coming!

Notice of our AGM to be held on Sunday, 3rd September 2023

Our AGM will be on Sunday, 3rd September at 3.00 pm. We will again be meeting on the beach. Our thanks again to the West Mersea Lions for the use of their front row hut (no. 236) near the Esplanade Car Park. The Lions will supply a few chairs, but these will be insufficient for all those wanting to attend. If it is easy, please bring your own chairs so we can all sit down. Please stay to join us for refreshments afterwards.

AGM Agenda

1. Apologies for absence

2. Minutes of previous meeting – 4th September 2022

3. Matters arising not on agenda

4. Chair’s Report

5. Treasurer’s Report

6. Membership Secretary’s Report

7. Patrol Officers’ Report

8. Election of Officers and Committee 9. Annual Subscriptions for 2023/24 10.Any other business

WMBHW AGM 2022

Subscriptions – The AGM approved that the annual subscription will remain unchanged at £5 per hut owned for the 2022/23 season for all members. For those patrolling in this season, please ensure the log in sheet is signed when collecting the patrol bag to qualify for your free annual membership for 2023/24.

Committee Officers

I am delighted to advise you that the following committee members were re- elected at the AGM:-

Chairperson (Bob Winnington)

Secretary (Ann Taylor)

Treasurer (Ros Kelly)

Patrol Officers (Clive & Sue Jenner)

Membership Secretary (Lorraine Carter)

Publicity Officer (Lynn Hartley).

Committee Members: - Andy Thompson and Peter Rowlinson

Matters arising from the AGM held on Sunday, 4th September 2022

 Signage: conversation ongoing with CCC about signage and we will update further if information comes to light.

 Putting Green: CCC to take responsibility for upkeep in 2023.

 Lifeguards: We are delighted to advise you that the opportunity to learn the basics of CPR on adults, children and babies with practical application

on resuscitation dummies was made available through the Mersea Lifeguards on April 16th and July 16th. Further dates have also been announced on the 3rd, 10th and 17th September.

 Fairhaven toilets: West Mersea Town Council have instigated a significant amount of work to upgrade the facility including repairs to the roof and ceiling and the installation of a new toilet system. No issues have been reported so far this summer but we will continue to monitor the position closely and we liaise with WMTC in case of need.

 Floating Platforms: Our Ex Mayor, Carl Powling, now elected as a Colchester City Councillor has invited me to join the Waterside Committee where this subject will be addressed. I have accepted the invitation and I am awaiting details of the next meeting to be held in the autumn.

Beach Hut Members Day: 7th May 2023

We would like to say a huge well done and thank you to everyone that joined in and decorated their huts in a Royal theme for our first members open day on the weekend of the King’s Coronation. It was good to meet so many fellow hut owners and to see everyone enjoying themselves in the sunshine. We had a very interesting conversation with one of our locally based Para’s who had taken part in the Coronation Parade the day before and met King Charles in the gardens of Buckingham Palace!

Following the success of the day we would like to repeat this next year and are looking at a provisional date of the second Sunday in May. More details to follow in the New Year but please put this date in your diaries if this is something you would like to join in with.

COLCHESTER CITY COUNCIL

We have continued to progress our good working relationship with the Parks and Recreation team at Colchester City Council (CCC) and we have held regular meetings throughout 2023 to date. We have covered the following topics since the last newsletter:-

     Beach management Plan

CCC are currently progressing their work on developing a maintenance plan and this will impact on the future maintenance / enhancement of the Beach hut area. In particular, a collaborative approach will be developed for the old Putting Green area and a strategy will be put in place for the groynes and

 areas of sand erosion.

 Compactor Bins

You may well have seen the four new compactor bins which have been located in the Two Sugars Cafe / Victoria Esplanade Car park area. The new bins have the combined capacity of the 20 ordinary bins they have replaced in that area. There is also an area next to each of the new bins to deposit used disposable barbeques which is an additional benefit.

 Investments for 2024

We are in discussions with CCC for them to invest in improving the presentation of the Beach hut area. These include:-

 o Upkeep and renewal of fences

o Enhancement of the Flower Beds and general appearance of the

 Putting Green Area

o Provision of additional benches

  The impact of these works will be driven by the availability of appropriate budgets and this will be discussed in the autumn.

 Grass Cutting

The "No Mow May" initiative in the Putting Green Area was continued this year. We needed to follow up with the Council to ensure that the grass cuttings were removed to avoid any fire risk and this was put into action.

West Mersea Town Meeting

I was invited to speak at this meeting on 4th MAY on behalf of WMBHW. Other speakers included The Lions, Refresh Mersea, Porch Pantry, Neighbourhood Watch and the Police Community Special Constable. The presentation was well received and helped to heighten our profile in the community.

WMBHW Community Support

We highlighted in our previous newsletter that we were planning our Community initiative for 2023 and we are delighted to confirm we will be supporting the following organisations this year:-

 Mersea Lifeguards

 The Porch Pantry

 Mid and North East Essex MIND

 Mersea Community Support

BEACH HUT PATROLS

The Committee would like to express its sincere thanks to all members who have carried out the routine patrols during the summer and for their reliable and diligent reporting. We have invited those, who live locally, to carry out the mid- week patrols (Monday to Thursday) and those who live outside Mersea, to patrol at weekends (Friday to Sunday). Patrollers may carry out as many patrols as they wish. In winter, one patrol each week is usually sufficient.

Thanks are due to The Island Supermarket, in Mersea High Street, who, previously, as The Trading Post, has reliably looked after the ‘Patrol Bag’ for us for many years. Sadly, due to additional commitments, the shop has decided that it can no longer provide the service. Fortunately, the Spar Store at Queens Corner has kindly agreed to look after the bag for us. The store is open until 2300 hrs in the evening. Before patrolling, patrollers can collect the bag and return it after their patrols. Patrollers should make sure that they sign the equipment sign-out/sign-in sheet as it is the only record that our Membership Secretary has, to be able to offer complimentary memberships for the following year .

Please contact the Patrol Officers immediately if the patrol dates allocated to you are not convenient. Alternative dates may then be offered.

To comply with the conditions of GDPR more closely, we have decided that, when patrollers report beach hut damage or insecurity, they should inform the Patrol Officers or the WMBHW Chairman, instead of contacting the hut owners directly. Routine patrols enable owners to be promptly notified of any problems requiring attention that may arise with their huts.

Between Mar 2023 and August 2023, we had one report of criminal damage where the rear window of a hut was broken. There were just six cases of weather damage (mostly roofing felt loss). We also received reports of huts requiring maintenance – particularly where rear storage boxes and decking structures require attention. Waste materials and timber were reported discarded in the vicinity of one hut. Such debris could be used to start fires on the beach. We had one such incident reported on 20th June with a fire on the beach so please be vigilant. We remind hut owners to properly dispose of discarded materials.

Clive and Sue Jenner have been the Watch’s Patrol Officers since 2009 and have decided to retire from the post. They wish to thank all patrollers and members who have given their support to them over their term in office.

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

We continue to progress our work to develop wider and more far reaching benefits for our members. We are pleased to confirm the following benefits to our members in the 2022/23 year as follows:-

 DISCOUNTED CAR PARKING IN VICTORIA ESPLANADE, SEAVIEW AVENUE AND WILLOUGHBY PARK CAR PARKS

o Members of WMBHW can purchase a Season Ticket at a reduced rate. The price for 2023 will be £85 which includes up to two vehicles from a single household. You are also able to register two separate vehicles from two separate households. However, in both cases, only one vehicle may be parked in the car park at any given time. If both vehicles are found parked at the same time, North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) will issue a Penalty Charge Notice.

o The WMBHW Member Parking permit provides access to Willoughby Park and Victoria Esplanade car parks from 1st April to 30th September. The permit also provides access to Seaview Car Park for the full 12 months

o You will need to notify NEPP if you change your car after submitting the application. NEPP can be contacted on 01206 282316

o For further information and to renew / apply for car parking in 2023 apply through NEPP: https://secure.mipermit.com/northessex/application/home.aspx You can also use the MIPermit App https://secure.mipermit.com/northessex

 SUPPLIERS

o Kent & Blaxill – minimum of 5% off all purchases * upon the

production of WMBHW membership card

* Discount may be higher on certain products

 INSURANCE

A 10% discount is available to all WMBHW members through the following Insurance companies. Just mention you are a member of WMBHW and, if required, your membership number is your hut number.

o Insure Homes: http://www.insurehomesdirect.co.uk/ - also quote Reference: WMB-22

Is your Beach Hut insurance due for renewal? Now Towergate have

 pulled out of the market Insure Homes Limited are handling many of

 the ex Towergate customers. They have offered additional support to

 see if they can help. Their telephone number is 0800 783 7187 or

 01242 678 678 or email insure@insurehomesdirect.co.uk. They

 pride themselves on the high level of service they offer and

 competitive premiums. Remember to mention WMBHW when asking

 for a quote.

o James Hallam: https://www.jameshallam.co.uk/ o Love Your Hut / CETA: https://loveyourhut.co.uk/

 LOCAL BUSINESSES

o Moores Estate Agents – Free Tide Tables

o Two Sugars - 10% off all purchases upon the production of WMBHW

membership card (excluding ice creams)

o Mansion House Florists - 10% off all purchases of flowers and plants

(minimum spend £25) upon the production of WMBHW membership

card (excluding Relay Service transactions)

o The Little Kitchen Cakery - 10% off all purchases upon the production

of WMBHW membership card

o Sheer Elegance - 10% off all purchases (minimum spend £25) upon

the production of WMBHW membership card

o Blackwater Pearl - 10% off all purchases (minimum spend £10) upon

the production of WMBHW membership card

o The Trove - 10% off all purchases (minimum spend £25) upon the

production of WMBHW membership card.

o Mersea Island Watersports - 20% discount across all lessons and hires

except kids club

o Mersea Mudcakes - 10% off all purchases when you order online. Just

o 10% off all purchases valued at £25 or over upon the production of WMBHW membership card

We will continue to engage with other organisations to extend the list of member benefits and we will keep you informed as they are agreed.

RENOVATIONS, REPAIRS AND CLEANING

We continue to receive a number of enquiries from Hut Owners asking for contact details for local individuals and firms providing support for maintenance, renovations and repairs to beach huts. Whilst not a definitive list, here are some useful contact details:-

David Young, bridgewatercarpentry@gmail.com - 07854 578309

 type in the code bh10

 Dukes Seafood -

  Gavin Butler, Beach Hut Services, Hardie Plank cladding, decking, repairs, new

 builds etc, with good feedback. Mersea based. 07889 093314

 gav020181@hotmail.co.uk

 Matthew, a Mersea based local carpenter who has worked on beach huts ranging from basic repairs to new builds using various materials.

“I am always happy to discuss various options from repairs through to new builds for members of WMBHW.”

Please call- 07811 267065.

Patrick Dawson, “Mersea’s Maintenance Man”

“I do most jobs around the home and more recently have started repairing, re- felting, re-cladding and painting beach huts.

 I’m always happy to come out to a job and give free advice on your hut as I live on the island. My mobile is 07743 489357 and my email is patrickdawson66@hotmail.co.uk “

 07770 845 287

 Roger Newton -

Wayne Tapner – “I am a qualified Carpenter with over forty years’ experience

 in the building industry, domestic and commercial. Currently I am refurbishing

 Beach huts on Park Holidays UK site, I also build garden rooms, loft conversation

 and property refurbishment. Free advice anytime, including if you want advice

 before you purchase a beach hut, please call me on 07711201093.

 Larger companies who supply and install new huts, standard or bespoke: -

 Maydays of Mersea, Richard, East Mersea based. 01206 386528

 Tom’s Farm of Tiptree, Maldon Road, 01621 891081

 Poultons of Danbury, 01206 222550

 “Beach Hut Cleans”

For details or bookings call Linda on 07479 645461

These details are provided for your information but WMBHW cannot be held responsible if any work undertaken does not marry up with your expectations surrounding the quality expected.

Please let us know if you have any further recommendations.

WEST MERSEA BEACH HUT WATCH WEBSITE

We are delighted to confirm that we have now launched the WMBHW website! Please take a look at the site - you will be able to find it here:-

www.westmerseabeachhutwatch.co.uk

We would like to pass on our enormous thanks and gratitude to Katie Frankl who has put in a lot of hard work to produce the site. We will look to develop the site further and we would welcome your feedback. We would also like to hear from you if you have any experience with websites and would like to support us in keeping the site up to date and in developing the site moving forward.

If you would like to help us with this please contact us through wmbhwmembership@btinternet.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

 I am sure many of you will have seen posts we have made on Facebook on the 'West Mersea Hutters' page. We will continue to use this page to contact our members with Beach Hut Watch news regarding membership, when our AGM will be taking place etc. Please remember the first port of call for existing members with any enquiries is wmbhwmembership@btinternet.com and the Facebook page will not be replacing our normal system of contacting members by email or post, but an additional way of getting information out to all beach hut owners.

We also have our own Instagram account ‘westmerseabeachhutwatch’ so give us a follow. This will run alongside the posts that we put on to the Mersea Hutters Facebook page. Please tag us with your brilliant Beach Hut ideas and share photos of you spending time at your beach huts. Our members would love to see how you enjoy your time at your huts.

WEST MERSEA BEACH HUT WATCH MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

We are very pleased to say that membership numbers are similar to last year and welcome to new hut owners.

This year we have decided to change the renewal date for membership and align with when car parking season tickets and Colchester City Council ground rent is due. With this in mind our new membership year will run from 1st March to February 28th. All current membership will be carried through until 29th February 2024 and membership cards will remain valid. New membership forms will be sent out in mid January to give our patrol officer time to produce the patrol rota.

Could you please save our email address as a ‘contact’ in your email address book. We still seem to have a problem with Gmail addresses when we send out a bulk email; we suspect that Gmail automatically reject emails that are sent like that as it presumes its ‘spam’.

Please contact us on wmbhwmembership@btinternet.com or 01206 386085 (Lorraine – Membership Secretary) for any membership and general queries.

YOUR WMBHW MEMBERSHIP

Thank you for your continued support and we trust you are gaining full value from your WMBHW membership.

Pleasecontactusatwmbhwmembership@btinternet.com ifyouwishto raise any matters with us. We are always open to offers of help, fresh ideas or if you wish to air your concerns. We will always commit to do what we can to support you and to do what we can to make your beach hut experience enjoyable.

We look forward to seeing you at our forthcoming AGM and we are keeping our fingers crossed for good weather! We continue to strive to support your needs as WMBHW members and to develop our proposition. We hope you like the website and we would love to hear from anyone with knowledge and experience about websites who can help up develop the site and keep it up to date and relevant to your needs.

Bob Winnington, Chair, West Mersea Beach Hut Watch April 2023