After the original terrace and beach huts at Milford on Sea where severely damaged during a huge storm that hit the coast on St Valentine’s Day 2014, New Forest Council embarked on a project to replace the original promenade and 119 beach huts.

Beach Huts Challenge of Project

The brief required the replacement beach huts to be able to withstand a 1 in 200 year storm event on the same location. The finished project is great example of a design which is habitable, aesthetically stunning, in keeping with its surroundings, whilst providing a robust sea defence in the age of continuously developing climate change.

Beach Hut Design

Ramboll UK led the design development of the scheme with the assistance of Snug Architects, using precast concrete C sections to form the body of the huts designed to withstand the worse anticipated storms.

Raymond Brown Construction Ltd commenced the £2.36m project on site in Sept 2016 completing in June 2017. Raymond Brown appointed Moore Concrete to provide all the precast elements of this project.
Raymond Brown Regional Director Kevin Valentine said “It has been a pleasure to work with New Forest District Council and all the partners on this project, which is so significant to the local area. Our team has worked diligently to deliver the scheme in time for the summer season and fully in line with expectations. I know we are all proud of the end result and hope the community and visitors alike will enjoy the new facilities”

Beach Hut Bespoke Front Panel Design

The overall design of the beach huts were softened using an attractive range of vibrant colours chosen by hut owners for their doors, coupled with precast concrete front panels using a number of coastal inspired local designs incorporated by Moore Concrete within the manufacturing process. Individual numbers were also incorporated into these panels during the manufacture process creating a bespoke decorative panel for each hut.

Textured Concrete Artwork Using Reckli Formliner

The new project design created a walkway along the top of the beach huts with bridges connecting each of the sections of the promenade, enabling people to walk the full length and enjoy the specular views of the Solent from an uninterrupted elevated position.

At the end of the beach hut terrace sections, a bespoke piece of public art was created using flotsam and jetson collected from the beach. Once arranged by a local artist they were cast to create a Reckli form work liner, Moore Concrete used these to create these textured concrete designed panels leading from the precast concrete steps down to the seafront promenade.

Award Winning Beach Huts

Milford-on-Sea Beach Huts Highly Commended Award at the Concrete Society Awards 2017

The judges comments included

‘Overall the visual impression is very pleasing’

‘The precast concrete, both artistic and plain, was to a very high standard’

‘The mix of precast and in-situ gave construction speed and cost effectiveness. The project utilises innovative techniques such as printed graphic concrete and unique Flotsam Jetsam artwork using a Reckli moulding system. Standard culvert C-sections laid on their side provided the basis for a cost effective structural solution.’

Milford-on-Sea Beach Huts have also been shortlisted for a flurry of awards. These include:
Institute of Civil Engineers Innovation Award Best Infrastructure Project South Award for Engineering Excellence
South Coast Property Awards Regeneration Project of the Year

Photographs courtesy of Raymond Brown Construction & Martin Gardner Photographer