Surf Reef is Go!
December 12th, 2007
LATEST NEWS: Europe’s first artificial surf reef at Boscombe has been given the green light.
The Marine and Fisheries Agency has granted Bournemouth Borough Council a special environment licence to begin construction of the project.
The Council is on course to start construction in spring 2008, with the reef anticipated to be completed in time for the October 2008 swell.
MFA chief executive, Nigel Gooding said:
We are delighted to be able to issue a licence under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985.
A number of complex issues to ensure the protection of the marine environment had to be considered. The MFA had to take into account the potential impact of the reef on local fishermen and any possible danger to navigation. All the issues have been resolved.
The Borough has also approved the reef in its statutory capacity as the Coastal Protection Authority.
Specialist construction material for the reef will be ordered, including the ecologically sound geo-textile bags from Australia and the webbing base from New Zealand.
Roger Brown, Head of Leisure Services at Bournemouth Borough Council, said:
Christmas has come early to Bournemouth. This is the fantastic news that everyone has been waiting for.
The area of Bournemouth and Poole already has an excellent reputation as a leading watersports destination, however the reef will put Boscombe firmly on the surfing map.
Weather conditions permitting, we anticipate to complete the reef by Autumn 2008 and this will result in the surf reef and land-based retail, catering, and surf-instruction facilities being completed together.
We are also pleased to announce award-winning designers, Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway MBE, are creating super beach huts for both surfers and holiday makers, as part of the Overstrand redevelopment.
The surf reef and super beach huts will be accompanied by a surf-themed retail outlet, a surfing academy and a glass-fronted restaurant offering fantastic panoramic views of Bournemouth and the Solent. There will also be a catering outlet selling good-quality food-to-go, changing rooms, toilets and hot showers, all contributing to the major transformation of Boscombe seafront. As expected, many companies see the area as a sound investment and are already vying for a space in this prime seafront location.
October 26th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Responding to the last paragraph above, all of it sounds very nice but where are all the sufers meant to park? If you are hoping to attract surfers to the area they have to have somewhere near to the beach, who wants to park in the Sovereign centre and walk to the beach!! No doubt the answer is to park along the beach front, fine but you have to get there before the tourists and pay a lot for parking. As a resident of Bournemouth my family and I loved going to the beach at Boscombe, the ease of parking the close proximity of the beach. But we don’t go anymore because the area has changed too much and the new ‘Lego’ looking flats are an eyesore not an improvement.