NEW Forest District Council has granted outline planning permission for the 20 beach huts smashed to pieces in the winter storms to be replaced.

The huts were destroyed during a storm that battered the coastline at Hordle Cliff near Milford-on-Sea on February 14.

Now the council’s planning committee has granted outline permission for 20 wooden replacement huts.

The owners will now be invited to apply for planning permission to replace each hut individually.

The council was criticised by the owners of other huts further along the coast at Milford-on-Sea after they were told they would have to pay for replacements after the authority had knocked them down.