EXCITING plans for a high-class restaurant have been unveiled as a key part of the Boscombe Spa regeneration scheme.

The ground floor of the Overstrand building by the pier has been handed over. And Mark Cribb, the young entrepeneur behind the boutique Urban Beach Hotel on nearby Sea Road, is to open a restaurant called Urban Reef.

He said there will be three levels with sea views over the pier and surf reef, and an 80-seat open-air terrace.

He gave the Daily Echo and council chief executive Pam Donnellan a tour ahead of the opening in the last week of April.

The ground floor will have an open-plan kitchen and deli counter featuring New Forest and Dorset produce.

Upstairs there will be a high-roofed room partly split into two levels, with seating booths, hanging lights and a log fire.

The menu will be changed every 12 weeks.

Good news on the employment front is the fact that Mr Cribb plans to recruit another 50 staff for the restaurant and the hotel.

As well as the Urban Reef restaurant, the ground floor of the Overstrand will house a council office, an RNLI office, two Sorted Surf Shop units, toilets and showers.

The council is also now fitting out the Wayne Hemming-way designed “surf pods” on the top two floors – modern beach huts, each with unique designs and running water, sewerage and electricity.

The Overstrand regeneration is designed to take advantage of the buzz created by the semi-constructed surf reef.

Pam Donnellan was impressed and added: “What amazes me is the number of people from all over the country who have heard about the surf reef.”

All the land-based work is due to be completed by May.

The council has been criticised for delays and cost overruns but Roger Brown from leisure services said: “People will start to get a better idea of what the project is all about when it is opened.”

The council is also delighted the old Neptune building next to the pier is being refurbished, complete with original turrets, and turned into a Harvester pub.