BOURNEMOUTH’S Pier Approach is getting a facelift this winter under plans to create a “world class seafront” for residents and visitors.

Pier Approach is one of the first sites to benefit from the council’s 20-year seafront strategy.

Fairground rides have been removed from the area and work has started on creating a series of water features and landscaping that will reconnect the Lower Gardens with the beach for the first time in over 100 years.

The entrance to Pier Approach will house a “landmark kiosk” offering tourism information and seafront services and there will be low-energy feature lighting to encourage more people to visit in the evenings.

The refurbished site will still include a Victorian-themed carousel but no other fairground rides will be allowed.

Cllr Lawrence Williams, cabinet member for tourism, said: “I’m very excited, this is the first stage in Bournemouth becoming a world class resort.

“It’s going to transform the whole Pier Approach, which was ready to be revived and brought into the 21st century.”

And Cllr Mike Greene, Central ward councillor, said: “The Pier Approach area is a real showcase for the town – for the six million people who visit us every year and also, since the Imax was pulled down, for residents too.

“It will be fantastic when it is brought up to the standard that it really deserves. I’m proud that we have such an ambitious approach when it comes to projects like this – Bournemouth cannot afford to be anything but top class.”

The first phase of the seafront project has seen new ‘super huts’ built at Alum Chine. There are also plans to build 14 overnight-stay beach huts at Southbourne, which will be offered for short-stay holiday accommodation all year round.