Claims that Bournemouth surf reef could be dismantled were yesterday ruled out by Bournemouth council’s executive director Tony Williams.

Following a meeting at the Town Hall to discuss ASR’s new proposals to rectify the reef’s faults, Mr Williams announced that a group had been formed to develop a technical solution to the reef’s performance.

He stressed that this would involve working with proposals by New Zealand-based contractor ASR to enhance its performance.

Leisure services director Roger Brown said panel members had also ruled out deconstruction, agreeing instead to focus their efforts on seeking “a solution that will deliver a more surfable wave”.

Earlier this year the council released results of the reef’s first monitoring exercise which showed that the controversial project was failing to meet four out of its 11 objectives.

The council is withholding a £150,000 performance-based payment to ASR until the reef is rectified with work expected to get under way next April or May.

Panel members Cllrs Basil Ratcliffe, Roger West, Ben Grower and Michael Everingham will liaise with the Boscombe Spa Village project board as well as surfing and business representatives before making their recommendations this autumn.

The over-due and over-budget Boscombe seafront regeneration scheme will be the subject of a special scrutiny meeting this Wednesday evening.

Officers will be asked to explain exactly how the costs of the Boscombe Spa Village project have escalated by a third to more than £11 million. Only last month, cabinet members deferred a decision to allocate a further £1.8m of money to the project until after the scrutiny panel has met.

Councillors will face questions such as why the council boasted of securing a ‘guarantee’ that the reef would be completed by the end of 2008 when, in fact, this was subject to good weather. Also, why the council has paid for accommodation for surf reef workers, even when they have been out of the country.

The 6pm town hall meeting is open to the public. Click here for directions.

Pictured (L-R): Nick Behunin – ASR Ltd, Roger Brown – Head of Leisure Services, Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin – Leader of the Council and Andy Campbell, ASR Ltd.

Bournemouth Borough Council has officially contracted New Zealand-based ASR Ltd to construct the Europe’s first artificial surf reef.

The contract is performance-based, to ensure the reef will perform to pre-stated standards. The contract also requires the reef to be completed by 31st December 2008 at the latest. The core construction period will be July-October and the estimated completion date remains the end of October, depending on weather conditions.

Councillor Stephen MacLoughlin, Leader of Bournemouth Borough Council says:

The deal has been done to bring the long-awaited surf reef to Boscombe to revive the area. It will be the most innovative sports and tourist attraction in the South. The public can be assured that the reef will definitely be completed at the latest by the end of this year. ASR Ltd had previously been commissioned as designers of the reef and will now use their expert knowledge in this highly complex marine construction project to achieve the performance requirements specified by the Council.

The first delivery of construction materials, which includes the webbing base and the first consignment of geo-textile bags, is due to arrive in Southampton Docks in late June. The bags will then be transported to an undisclosed area in Dorset where they will be assembled onto the webbing base at a harbour-side location. They will then be loaded onto a barge for deployment at the Boscombe site.

Nick Behunin, Managing Partner of, ASR Ltd says:

We are pleased to be introducing Europe ’s first artificial surfing reef as part of the Boscombe regeneration plan. We believe our ground-breaking technology will be integral in increasing tourism to the area. It’s exciting to see how Bournemouth Council is going further than the other destinations in the world where we have built surf reefs, with significant additional investment in the infrastructure and facilities surrounding the reef. The regeneration of Boscombe, with the revitalisation of the Pier, Overstrand and new surfing facilities, restaurants and shops are really transforming Boscombe into an exciting surfing destination in the UK .