A NEW Zealand surf reef trust is considering asking Bournemouth Council to launch joint legal action against the builders ASR.

The Opunake Surf Reef Trust said its own reef has still not been finished after five years and a cost of £935,000.

David Lusk, the trust chairman, told the Tarakani Daily News it is struggling to contact ASR, which also built the Boscombe Reef.

The trust is meeting soon to consider legal action, and Mr Lusk said: “It is going that way. We need to have answers from these guys pretty smartly.”

He said it is considering contacting Bournemouth Council to see if it would consider joint legal action to recover money.

Bournemouth Council said it had not been contacted and declined to comment on whether it would consider legal action.

ASR is due to return to Boscombe in the spring for remedial work. The company is being paid £55,000 of a final £150,000 retainer, and the rest if the work is a success.

Leader of the council Peter Charon said: “They are clearly not going to get any more money without doing certain work.

“I know nothing about the situation in New Zealand. I can only deal with what’s happening here.”

The cost of the Boscombe reef has doubled to £3m. An independent expert judged it is only meeting four out of 11 criteria.

Cllr Ben Grower, a long time opponent of the reef, said: “I hope the New Zealand trust do contact us but I somehow get the feeling this current administration will continue to stick their heads in the sand.

“It’s time somebody took this company to the courts.”

Cllr Roger West said: “I think it’s a damn good idea to join up. This whole matter has been handled unbelievably badly from the beginning.

“Maybe a joint action will get us somewhere. I think we should explore our options.”