A group of elderly women who have been accused of acting like a cartel after unceremoniously evicting tenants from prized beach huts have today hit back and declared rules are rules.
Up to eight tenants, some of whom have rented out huts for 50 years, are believed to have been told to leave in the latest cull as they do not live within the local council tax boundary.
The four directors of the Greenhill Community Trust in Weymouth, Dorset, have been accused of acting in a shameful manner since taking over the running of the 45 chalets from the council in 2019.
The Trust, made up of directors Sue Bray, 74, Janis Chalker, 76, Janet Cridland, 81, and Sandy Tubby, 62, also evicted six families in 2022.
The group is at war with their tenants after being accused of evicting several long standing hut holders for no apparent reason and without explanation.
One tenant claimed that the power has gone to the heads of the four women.
Janet Cridland today categorically denied they were being unfair and said they sympathised with the evicted tenants.
Speaking at her semi-detached home in Weymouth, she insisted they are not hard people and any comparisons with a cartel were ridiculous.
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
Janis Chalker (pictured) is one of the Trusts four directors who have been likened to a cartel
Up to eight tenants, some of whom have rented out huts for 50 years, are believed to have been told to leave in the latest cull as they do not live within the local council tax boundary
Ms Cridland said the directors are not paid for the role and pay for their chalets.
They are instead doing it for the benefit of the town to preserve the future of the 45 seaside huts, she claimed, adding their hands are tied as they must abide by the terms of their licence from Weymouth Town Council.
It was revealed today that there is are 200 people on the waiting list for the huts.
Ms Cridland said: Our licence with Weymouth and Portland Town Council states that tenants must be from within the council tax boundary.
Of course we have sympathies with those people who are outside the border as we are not hard people, but we must abide by the rules.
There is a waiting list of 200 people from Weymouth and Portland for the chalets.
We (the directors) get nothing for what we do. We pay for our chalets like everyone else.
We do this for the benefit of the town and to keep the chalets going, which weve done for five and a half years.
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
Nobody is entitled to a licence and they are handed out for one year.
Yesterday David White, 75, and his partner Elaine Jepson, 68, described how they were evicted from their beach hut which they have used for the last 27 years.
In 2022, the cartel 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.
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 thats 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 were being discriminated against, and I dont 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 cant talk to [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 Elaines 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 wont 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 peoples 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.
The Greenhill Community Trust said: The Greenhill Community Trust C.I.C. do not wish to make any further comments.
All individual Licence Occupiers affected have had an explanation by letter well in advance of the end of their Licence Agreement.
We can confirm the Council imposed Conditions on our 30 year Lease which we are implementing, this affects individuals who live outside the area/boundary.
The affected individuals signed Licence Agreement will expire on 31 March 2025.
A spokesperson previously said 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.