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Surf's Up (and Up) at Bournemouth
• Europe's first artificial surf reef planned at Bournemouth Pier on English coast
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By
Roxsana , Environment correspondent
Tuesday,
16 January, 2007
A £1.4 million reef is to be built along Boscombe seafront in Dorset, off the south coast of England, to attract up to 10,000 surfers to the seaside town of Bournemouth each year.
Sand-filled bags will be submerged east of Boscombe pier, to create waves up to 4 metres (13ft) high.
It is hoped that this will double the number of good surfing days to more than 150 each year.
Andrew Emery, service development officer for the seafront, said: “It will put Boscombe on the map as a surfing resort.” The reef will be ready to use by September. It is part of an £8 million surfing-themed regeneration project, the Boscombe Spa Village scheme.
The reef will have, at worse, a neutral effect on the environment, and marine life is likely to thrive on the reef with no damage caused to the beach, the council said.
Surfers spend 8 per cent more than other holidaymakers on average. The reef will be ready to use by September 2007.
Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth, a traditional middle class seaside resort on the south coast of England. In recent years the town has developed a thriving local industry in language courses for overseas students.
On The Lam 2007
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