LONG-AWAITED plans for a beachfront cafe, with sweeping estuary views, have been ditched - and three beach hut kiosks are set to be created instead.

More than 13 years after fire destroyed a café on a council-owned pitch on Shoebury East Beach, the leaseholder has been told plans for his two-storey café will not go-ahead.

Councillors ran out of patience with the unnamed leaseholder who has consistently failed to follow through on his ambitious plan.

Now the council has exercised its legal right to take back the lease and is set to use the site for three businesses within new beach huts selling snacks and refreshments.

Ron Woodley, deputy leader of the council, said: “We’ve taken it back. The leaseholder has taken too long to do anything and doesn’t deserve the site.

“We want to put three beach huts there sell coffees, teas and cakes.

“There will be three different types of business rather than the pie-in-the-sky this guy wanted. He had it for far too long.

“Shoebury councillors had given up on him. At the moment I’m leaving it to the asset people to sort out but I know they will push it.

“It would be nice to get it done by next summer but if not then it’ll be the summer after.

“We have to put the buildings on there and get the tenants interested.”

The council has installed several modern beach huts nearby, but the new ones are likely to be smaller and more traditional.

Mr Woodley added: “We want to get three huts on that plinth so they will be smaller than the ones already on East Beach.”

Harry Chandler from the Shoebury Residents’ Association said the decision was disappointing.

He said: “From my point of view it would have been nice to have a proper café there as it would encourage more people to visit the area.

“I would have thought that plan was more in keeping with the area.”

A resident, who asked not to be named, said: “It is a shame we aren’t going to get a proper cafe there. It would’ve been ideal but we’ve been waiting a long time so most people assumed it wasn’t happening.”