PALM trees, a fudge bus and a decorated bar are all part of new plans to bring some new life to Bournemouth town centre this summer. 

Live at the Square has been awarded a contract by BCP Council to deliver its ‘town centre summer entertainment programme and bar’. 

Expected to start in mid-July, there will be a big bar area in the Square dressed with real plants, palm trees and grasses as well as props such as surfboards and driftwood surrounded by white fencing. 

There is also expected to be a London-style confectionary bus selling sweets, laces, fudge and honeycomb. 

Bournemouth Echo: Live at the BeachLive at the Beach (Image: Freeman & Schmidt)

Two stages will host workshops and live performances within the proposed opening hours of 10am until 11pm throughout the week. 

A spokesperson for the event said in a design and access statement: “We are required to operate an event to animate Bournemouth town centre over the busy summer period.  

“It will be a fresh and unique offering with high quality design which will fit in a contemporary town centre. The offering will be themed with a strong focus on 'the event'.” 

The event must firstly clear through a planning application by BCP Council and, if approved, the venue will be in the Square between July 12 and September 1.  

Bournemouth Echo: CGI of the proposed Live at the Beach

Previous venues put up in the Square during the summer include Summer Live, which had free kids entertainment, barbecues and live music. 

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the town centre this summer, roller skating, 80s nights and film screenings could all be coming to the Lower Gardens. 

For six weeks between July and August, Summer SKATE – similar to SKATE in the winter – is expected to host the events. 

Sir Conor Burns, MP for Bournemouth West and chair of the Bournemouth Action Partnership Group, hailed the progress being made in the town centre. 

He told the Echo: “I’m under no illusions as to the scale of the challenges faced to change perception and reality in the town centre. 

“Hopefully things like this combined with increasing cleaning, new bins, hanging baskets will start to show the small positive changes being made.  

"If we can complement this with a police focus on anti-social behaviour in all its forms we could start to see real positive change in the months ahead.”