Bournemouth Surf Reef was at the centre of a special public scrutiny meeting held last Wednesday at Bournemouth Town Hall.

Roger Brown, Bournemouth’s Head of Leisure Services, and Geoff Turnbull, Engineering Services Manager, presented their report requesting additional funding ahead of it being considered at the next full cabinet meeting on the 25th of February.

The report covered the project budget and the key variances, information on the surf pods which are the additional source of income for the project and the impact of the scheme on the overall revenue budget. Roger Brown then handed over to Geoff Turnbull who looked at the pressures that have been dealt with on the project since the last report in June 2008 and the arrangements for the final delivery of the scheme.

Roger Brown began by presenting the vision for the Boscombe Spa Village project, with the surf reef being it’s integral component.

1. To transform and regenerate Boscombe
2. Having an integrated design concept – linking the Victorian gardens to a 1950’s seafront to a 21st century residential development in a ’seamless and flowing way’
3. To generate positive PR from being the first resort in the northern hemisphere to invest in an artificial surf reef. Mark Smith, head of tourism at Bournemouth Borough Council has estimated the PR value to date to be in the order of £12 million
4. To stimulate external investment in the form of investment by local businesses that have been selected to operate retail outlets, a £455,000 award from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport for the Sea Change Scheme, Sport England funding for a coastal recreation officer and refurbishment proposals for the Neptune complex which is being restored to its 1960’s form to complement the rest of the development.

Roger Brown stressed that although the surf reef and Overstrand are yet to be fully completed, a large part of the regeneration project has already been delivered, including the rebuilding of Boscombe pier.

Additionally, in order to refurbish the pier entrance building and Overstrand, it was necessary to relocate the toilets and the land train respectively. All of this has been done to enable these buildings to play a leading role in the regeneration of Boscombe for the future.

The remaining elements of the scheme

Boscombe Surf Reef 60% complete	Boscombe Overstand Complex 95% complete	Honeycombe Beach Development 60% complete

The surf reef is 60% complete – 38 of the 55 bags have been laid. A bathymetric survey of the seabed shows the base of the surf reef is in its correct location in approximately 4 metres of water, 300 metres out from the Overstrand complex.

The Overstand complex is 95% complete – the first and second floor levels which house the surf pods have now been handed over. The ground floor restaurant has been handed over this week and the contractor has moved in to commence work. The retail fit out will begin in March.

Roger Brown stated that the land based leisure development “will be complete in May of this year”.

The Barratt Homes development, which has funded most of the capital funding for the regeneration scheme, is around 60% complete. They are aiming for completion by spring 2010.

Project budget

There are 3 areas which have caused concern compared with the costings that were presented to the cabinet in June 2008.

1. The surf reef which shows a projected cost overspend compared with last year of £346,000 – nearly half of this being a contingency for bringing in extra sand if needed. A survey of the beach will take place in March, but this £169,000 will only be required if beach levels have dropped significantly. £70,000 will be required to stockpile and prepare the sand, ready to go back into the bags to complete the reef. The other significant element is the £100,000 which is a contribution to demobilisation and remobilisation costs (£30,000 and £70,000 respectively). This money has not yet been paid to ASR Ltd and will not be made until a cabinet decision has been reached
2. The Overstrand and roadworks which shows a cost increase of £678,000
3. Project management costs of £64,000 – reflecting an acknowledgment that the project management resource was “too light”.

The scope of the work for the Overstrand and pier entrance building was for these buildings to be delivered as a ’serviced shell’. Retail and catering would then be fitted out by third parties. The fit out of the surf pods, however, is now being undertaken by the council and they will eventually be sold on. This was not in the original council budget and Mr Brown dismissed recent headlines claiming the project to be £1.8 million over budget to be an “unrealistic comparison”. The money allocated to fit out the surf pods is a “separate project” and the income of the surf pod sales will not only meet the costs of the fit out, but also the additional capital costs of the scheme.

The total cost for the project as of June 2008 was just under £9.3 million. The revised forecast is now £10.3 million.

Roger Brown apologised for the increase in cost and admitted he was “disappointed that the Overstrand and roadworks cost in particular was a surprise fairly late on”.

Why the reef wasn’t completed by December 2008

The council submitted applications for the European Environmental Protection License in January 2007. Two applications were submitted on the same day – one for shortening Boscombe pier and the other for siting the surf reef. Government advised that a decision on both applications would be made within 3 months.

A decision on Boscombe pier came through in early March 2007, taking 2 months. The authority for the surf reef however was not made until December 2007 – nearly a year following application. Contracts and procurement could not be negotiated and made with ASR Ltd until this authorisation was given.

In December 2007, permission was granted although at this point there were still no detailed costing or even plans for how to build the reef.

Roger Brown then went over to Australia and New Zealand with coastal engineer David Harlow and with previous project manager Nigel Clarke to look at those issues. As a result of that visit and the subsequent council debate, a decision was made to go to a negotiated procurement route with ASR Ltd as the construction company.

A performance based contract was negotiated with ASR in May 2008.

Applications were then made at the end of May 2008 for work permits for the specialised New Zealand staff who were coming over for the project. The council were told by the Border Agency that this would take around 4 weeks. It took 9 weeks, meaning that it was mid July 2008 before construction workers were able to work on the site.

According to Mr Brown, the construction team were then faced with the windiest July and August for 60 years. It meant that the first bags of the reef didn’t go into the water until the Friday of the Bournemouth Air Festival. Between the end of August and the end of October, 38 geotextile bags were laid. By this time, a decision needed to be made as to whether the reef could realistically be finished by 31st December 2008, as ASR were committed to. It was accepted however, that the delays caused particularly by the Border Agency, combined with unsuitable weather conditions, meant that construction would have to be postponed.

The issue of ASR’s accommodation

A cost of £1.5 million was agreed upon after contracts with ASR Ltd were negotiated. Both accommodation and the supply of fuel were stripped out of the budget because these items were considered high in the original bid from ASR.

The accommodation and fuel costs that were provided in the original bid were in excess of £100,000. Bournemouth Council, through rented accommodation, limited this to £40,000. Roger Brown accepted that the renewal in December was capable of being misread. However, they wanted to ensure that the accommodation was there in order to be able to complete the project.

The Overstrand and roadworks

Roger Brown admitted that officers tried to save money and “perhaps cut some corners” by failing to carry out a structural survey on the dilapidated Overstrand building. He told Bournemouth councillors: “I accept responsibility and I apologise unreservedly for this element of the project”.

Because of it’s age, no architectural, structural or services drawings were available of the Overstrand building when the project was embarked upon. The way that the Council proposed to go about quantifying the works was through a survey by the architects which was the basis of the design. On reflection, Mr Brown stated that “a much fuller, more detailed survey” should have been done. The building was much more seriously degraded than had been estimated and this resulted in the overspend on the building works element.