Rocked by reef

5:56am Monday 12th May 2008

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By Melanie Vass »

DISGRUNTLED beach hut owners are complaining that the construction of the surf reef has left Boscombe beach looking like a building site.

Pensioner Frederick Hancock, of Christchurch, says he is considering giving up his hut because of the piles of stones currently strewn across sections of the beach.

The extra "beach material" has been dredged from the Isle of Wight and is due to be removed shortly and used in the construction of the surf reef. Bournemouth Tourism says beach hut owners will then be in a prime position to watch the project's progress.

But 81-year-old Frederick may not stick around for that. He said: "The beach is in such a disturbed state. It looks an absolute disgrace.

"I'm paying around £1,000 a year for my hut and I don't expect miracles, but it would be nice if they tidied up as they went along and made the beach safe for people."

Fellow beach hut owner Alec Ward, 58, also had some concerns. He said: "We've still got a pile of sand and stones outside our beach hut which is a little bit disappointing, since we are now in May "We feel they perhaps could work a bit harder to sort it out."

Boscombe West councillor Phil Stanley-Watts said he felt beach users and local residents needed to be better informed about the major work that was happening at Boscombe.

He said: "People need to know when things will improve and what they can expect afterwards."

Seafront manager Chris Saunders said 15,000 cubic metres of extra beach material was dredged up for the reef and placed between the Honeycombe Chine development and Manor Steps.

Delays to the reef scheme then meant that some of that sand was lost over the winter and additional material had to be dredged up and delivered to the Portman Ravine area.

"In order to specifically avoid disruption to beach users and beach hut tenants, the sand will be transferred overnight," he said.

"There will be no activity or machinery moving during the day and there will be access to the beach throughout the day.

"We hope that people appreciate that this temporary work will make Boscombe one of the most innovative and exciting beaches in the UK."