7:08am Monday 19th May 2008
By Timothy John
BOSCOMBE'S new surf reef has attracted its first major investment in Bournemouth's high street.
Clothing retailer Fat Face has told the Daily Echo it will open a giant new town-centre store by the end of June.
The news follows Bournemouth Borough Council's announcement that the reef will definitely be completed by the end of this year.
The borough council's deputy leader, Cllr John Beesley, welcomed the retailer's investment, saying that the return of "quality and excitement" to the retail sector was part of the authority's master vision for the town centre.
The new store on Old Christchurch Road will cover nearly 3,000 square feet selling surfboards, windsurfs and dinghies as well as clothes.
Plans to build the Northern Hemisphere's first artificial surf reef just two miles away were key to the company's decision to invest in the town, said one of its directors.
The long-hoped-for ripple effect from the new reef has now started in earnest. The first of the new businesses has arrived and it is anticipated that more will follow to service the needs of a new breed of tourist.
"Bournemouth is a prime location in the UK, especially with the UK's first surf reef being developed. The new store will be an amazing building, in a great position in the town," said Sarah Baskcomb, the brand's communications chief.
Project manager Mick Marran, who is overseeing the new store, described the turn-of-the-century structure as "incredibly interesting".
"The building has two glass atriums which will be fully refurbished and become major features of the store.
"It's one of the reasons we took the second floor out, so people can enjoy them," said Mr Marran.
Copper-clad windows and the building's stone facia will undergo "substantial refurbishment" and timber backed by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) will be used in the refit, he added.
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