AN ACTION group of more than 300 regular visitors to Mudeford Spit has been formed in an attempt to block the proposals for a replacement cafe after the previous building was ruined by fire.

The Beach House Action Group (BHAG) says BCP Council’s scheme for the site, which has been submitted to the planning department, would “dominate” the area.

A fire in November 2018 gutted the Beach House Cafe, however, £1million in funding for a project to replace it was approved by senior councillors earlier this year.

Following the blaze, an open air temporary bar and takeaway food stall has been operating on the site.

The council’s planning application was submitted in March and scores of objections have flooded in since then.

BHAG said its members are concerned over the impact the proposed cafe would have on the “delicate beach environment”, claiming the two-storey building would “dominate the sandspit skyline and dwarf the beach huts surrounding it”.

The group said around 200 objections had been submitted against the plans, mostly citing the height and scale of the new building as the reason for the objection.

A spokesperson for the Beach House Action Group said: “The council has strict rules for the rebuild of the beach huts, restricting the height and floor area, but has ignored these when coming up with this proposal.

“It seems that there is one rule for the public and another for the council.”

The spokesperson said the group wants the council to reconsider the design and put forward a like-for-like replacement of the cafe.

They added: “The beach is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) and will be damaged by the increase in traffic and visitors attracted by a larger café.”

In response to objections filed against the plans, BCP Council’s appointed architect, Lymington-based PAD studio, said the proposed designs for the building had drawn inspiration from the beach huts surrounding the site.

Its statement added: “Whilst the overall height of the proposal is taller than the previous building, by breaking the development into separate pitched roof forms, the mass and bulk of the building is reduced.

“A single storey lower element facing the water (in the same position as the existing covered veranda) presents a linear element, unifying the three central pitched roof elements.”

The opportunity to submit a comment on the application closed in April and the proposals are currently still under consideration with the council.