DEADLINE LOOMS ON PROPOSED HUMBERSTON FITTIES SALE

Tranquil summer scene at the Fitties

THE countdown has begun on the proposed sale of the Humberston Fitties.

Its owner, cash-strapped North East Lincolnshire Council, is hoping to reap a much-needed £1.5-million windfall by offloading the chalet park either to existing tenants or aprivate-sector operator.

The 56-acre coastal site - along with 320 holiday chalets - is on the books of York-based Edwards & Partners, a division of Leeds-headquartered national chartered surveyors Sanderson Weatherall LLP.

The agents have set a deadline of 5pm on Thursday November 30 for prospective purchasers to submit offers.

For a while, NELC  neighbouring Thorpe Park holiday centre - part of Bourne Leisure - had first refusal.

However, it is understood that the interest of Bourne, which also owns other other holiday parks - plus Butlins holiday camps - has waned.

This is partly because the roads and utilities that serve the Fitties need extensive capital investment.

The company may also have taken fright at the long history of tension between NELC and a vociferous lobby group of some of the tenants.

Much of this has revolved around whether regulations prohibiting overnight occupation during January and February should be relaxed.

Despite recent strengthening of coastal defences by the Environment Agency, the site is also highly vulnerable to flooding by the sea in the event of a freak high tide.

The site brings in an annual rent of about £245,000 to the council, with the tenants mostly paying  between £725 and £800 in ground rent per annum - more if they have larger plots. Many of the leases are due to expire in 2021.

When the marketing drive was launched last month, Adam Burkinshaw, a partner at Edwards and Partners, said: "This is a site that is well known and prominent on the Lincolnshire Coast and one that has attracted a lot of publicity in the past. 

"We anticipate a great deal of interest, both from residents' associations on the site and from the wider world of commercial operators - people who see an opportunity for active management to maintain and improve what has become  a slightly tired site.

"It needs to be modernised and brought into the 21st century."

The southern end of the site, which borders the RSPB's Tetney Marshes nature reserve, also accommodates the premises of a yacht club whose current 25-year lease is due to expire on March 30, 2021. Its rent is £4,500 per annum.

The Fitties is being offered for sale on a 125-year lease at a peppercorn rent.

Below are pictures of more of the chalets plus some other scenes from the site.