A fresh bid to build new beach hits has been unveiled by a council just three months after its previous proposal was snubbed by its own planning committee.

In September, Canterbury City Council's application to erect 20 of the wooden shacks in Whitstable between two existing rows was rejected following almost 100 objections.

But the council hopes a new, scaled back plan for 12 huts next to a storage area used by Tankerton Sailing Club will be better received.

The authority, which has been hit hard financially by the pandemic, is looking to cash in on the growing staycation market.

It will build the huts itself and sell them at the market rate, and with more than 1,000 people on a waiting list to snap one up, it will have no shortage of willing buyers.

Two privately-owned beach huts in Tankerton are currently being sold for £36,000 and £45,000 respectively.

The council’s initial proposal for 20 huts had sparked a number of concerns over its impact on an undeveloped area, an increase in vandalism and the attraction of rats.

Tankerton ward councillor Neil Baker was one of many who raised issues, but says the new application is more acceptable.

“The previous scheme was on protected land between huts and part of their amenity, whereas this is not, and the impact will not be the same,” he said.

“This is almost virginal land, so to speak, and as long as it doesn’t affect the boat storage area, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

There are currently 650 beach huts across the district on sites managed by the city council.

Plans were approved in September to build 94 more across two plots in Herne Bay.

Arguing its case for the new huts in Tankerton, the council says they will be near existing facilities, including water standpipes and public toilets, and not in any special ‘designated’ area.

No levelling or reprofiling of the site is proposed, as it is intended that the huts are constructed to suit the topography of the slopes.