Long-standing beach hut residents are at war with a ‘cartel’ of elderly women they claim evicted them from their seaside shelters.
David White, 75, and his partner Elaine Jepson, 68, have leased their beach hut at Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth, Dorset, for the last 27 years.
But they, like two other families, have been given the boot by the no-nonsense directors of the Greenhill Community Trust.
The Trust, made up of directors Sue Bray, 74, Janis Chalker, 76, Janet Cridland, 81, and Sandy Tubby, 62, have been running the 45 huts since 2019 after they took over from Weymouth Town Council.
Now, evicted tenants claim that ‘power has gone to the heads’ of the trust members.
In 2022, they served eviction notices on at least six tenants who had been there for up to 50 years as well as a sea swimming club.
They were accused at the time of acting in a ‘snooty’ manner over the running of the chalets.
Elaine Jepson and David White (pictured) claim they are the latest victims of an elderly ‘cartel’
Maureen Smethurst outside her beach hut in Greenhill Gardens, in Weymouth with parents-in-law, Honor and John Smethurst – she has also been evicted
Sue Bray (pictured) who is one of the directors for the Greenhill Community Trust which has been accused of evicting tenants from their beach huts
Mr White, who lives in Yeovil, Somerset, says he feels they were ‘discriminated against’ by the directors.
He said his family had been tenants of the hut since the 1970s when his parents started renting it, with him taking it over when his mother died in 1997.
They say they are in ‘absolute shock’ after being told they will not have their licence renewed in March because they are not ‘locals’.
Mr White said: ‘My mother and father had the hut since the 1970s so that’s 50 years we have used it with so many happy memories.
‘The whole thing is absolutely terrible, a really big shock.
Pictured: The row of beach huts at Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth, which is managed by the Greenhill Community Trust
‘I think we’re being discriminated against, and I don’t know why (the trust) chose to do it now, and not in 2019 when they took over the lease.
‘There is another tenant who lives four miles away from the chalets in Osmington and they are being kicked out for not being locals too.
‘It is madness but you can’t talk to them (the directors) and the power has gone to their heads.
‘They are acting like a cartel.’
In a letter to Mr White from the trust, which purchased a 30-year lease from Weymouth Town Council in 2019, they were told that ‘occupiers must be residents from the local area’.
It said: ‘Regretfully, we are giving you advanced warning that your licence is due to expire on March 31, in accordance with the term 2.16 of your signed licence agreement. (We) will not be offering you the option to renew.
‘In accordance with our 30-year lease from the council, one of our conditions within the lease stipulates that occupiers must be residents from the local area.
‘This is in accordance with, and connected to, a covenant on the land, bequeathed to the council of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis ‘in the early 1900s’. It was given by the council at that time for the health and wellbeing of local residents.’
The families who were evicted in 2022 said they were ‘model’ tenants who paid their fees on time and maintained the huts to a high standard.
Vicky Winslow, 44, an office manager, said at the time: ‘We have looked after it, decorated it inside, and just spent so much time there in general – we even hold a party once a year.
Maureen Smethurst, pictured outside her beach hut in Greenhill Gardens, in Weymouth
The view from David and Elaine’s beach hut in Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth, Dorset
‘Yet now we have been told to clear out by the end of March.
‘It is devastating, I have not seen my mum this upset in years.
‘To have no consultation or engagement totally makes it feel like a personal attack – they won’t even talk to us on the phone.’
Sisters Cate Steel, Caroline Wakeford and Suzy Compton, and their parents Gill and Colin Steel had rented a chalet at Greenhill Gardens for over 50 years.
Miss Steel, a property lettings business owner from Weymouth, said they were told their licence would not be renewed after the family had tried to get the trust to reduce the £1,035 annual fees during Covid when they were not allowed to use it.
When they did transfer the full amount they said they were told to remove the contents of the chalet before they were refunded the money.
Gill died in July 2021 and Miss Steel said the actions of the trust had ‘tarnished so many happy memories for the family’.
Miss Steel said: ‘They showed zero empathy towards people’s predicaments.
‘We had to remove all the contents of the chalet and after their inspection they refunded the money.
‘It was a horrible time, and so many happy memories have been tarnished for the whole family.’
In a statement the Greenhill Community Trust said they had the ‘autonomy’ to manage the chalets how they saw fit. Pictured: Evictee Maureen Smethurst outside the row of beach huts
The trust appointed a fourth director, physiotherapist Mrs Tubby, 62, in November 2022. The other directors, who have all been in place since 2018, are aged in their 70s or early 80s.
In a statement the Greenhill Community Trust said they had the ‘autonomy’ to manage the chalets how they saw fit.
They disputed the term ‘evicted’ and instead said the couple were simply not having their licence renewed.
A spokesperson for the Greenhill Community Trust said of the latest eviction: ‘The letter sent explained the position of the directors of Greenhill Community Trust C.I.C.
‘The whole area of Greenhill, including the gardens was originally gifted in the early 1900s to the borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis at the time for the Health and Welfare of local people.
‘The directors have worked tirelessly with no remuneration, or other voluntary help, to bring the whole area within their demise back into a good state of repair.
‘This has taken time to establish, the Directors felt the time had arrived to move forward and comply with the condition imposed on the GCT C.I.C back in 2019.
‘Chalet occupiers only have a licence. This is issued year on year. No one has a right of tenancy or occupancy without a signed licence agreement.
‘The directors are complying with one of the conditions imposed on them within the 30-year signed 2019 lease.
‘Our solicitor has been fully informed, and a copy of the letter issued has been copied to Weymouth Town Council who are the body that oversees the lease.’