Funds raised from charging beach hut owners ten per cent of the price when they sell could be reinvested into seafront services if the plan goes ahead, the council has said.

The pledge comes after angry hutters in Hove slammed what they branded a “stealth tax” and vowed to fight Brighton and Hove City Council over the proposals for a third time.

Cathy Biggs, chairwoman of Hove Beach Hut Association, who has owned a beach hut since 2015, said it is wrong to charge owners when they sell as they are not making a profit after years of maintaining their huts and paying the council a ground fee.

The council wants to introduce the new fee from next spring and said it would be in lieu of increasing the annual licence charge.

Councillor Alan Robins, chairman of the culture, heritage, sport, tourism and economic development committee said “the council and therefore local taxpayers as a whole” do not benefit from the profit made on the sale of beach huts when “most of the value is due to its prime position on the seafront” and that neighbouring authorities Worthing and Adur Council and Rother District Council have had a similar scheme in place for five years.

He added that the current annual licence charges are below nearby towns in those areas such as Bexhill, Worthing and Lancing.

The licence fee for 2023 to 2024 is £503.60 including VAT and an administration fee of £82 is currently charged for a change of ownership.

A consultation on the plans is running until October 19 and the council said it contacted the 459 hut owners on Friday about the proposal.

But Ms Biggs said she and other hutters have still not received a letter or email from the council and that the consultation period is too short.

She also criticised the council for a lack of seafront CCTV and for providing “dodgy toilets” and “dodgy lighting”.

“Beach huts are being sold for an awful lot of money because of their sought-after location on Hove seafront,” said Cllr Robins.

“The value of the hut itself is around £5,000 (to build from scratch) while huts on the seafront are sold for more than £30,000.

“If we do introduce a transfer fee, we will reinvest the additional revenue back into seafront services.

“We manage our beach huts effectively for the benefit of our city and our wonderful seafront. This includes enforcement of regulations around the appearance and decoration of the huts.

“We believe their inherent uniformity apart from their doors – which we insist on – is a big part of why they are so popular and iconic.

“The consultation goes on for three weeks. We contacted all owners with email on Friday and put letters in the post to those without email.

“I’m unclear as to why the consultation would need to last more than three weeks.

 “We are very aware of occasional instances of huts being vandalised. However, any consideration of installing CCTV cameras on the seafront or anywhere else in the city where vandalism sometimes takes place would need to be fully costed and prioritised.”