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Boscombe surf reef advice won't be published yet, says council

4:50pm Thursday 4th March 2010 in


BOURNEMOUTH council is refusing to reveal yet what the experts have told it about whether the Boscombe surf reef is working.

Plymouth University is conducting a year-long study of the reef's performance and gave council officials an interim briefing yesterday.

But the council does not intend to publish the details of that briefing "out of context".

Opening day of surf reef

A statement from Roger Brown, the council’s service director for leisure, said: “The verbal briefing from Plymouth University only took place yesterday (Wednesday March 3) and continues to be a work in progress.

“To take Plymouth University’s interim information in isolation would undermine the commitment we have given to the surfing community to listen to their views, which we are still gathering. It would also mean taking information out of context of the other monitoring that is ongoing by both Southampton and Bournemouth universities, of the coastal protection and marine biodiversity respectively.

“The universities’ studies are part of a year-long programme of monitoring and evaluation not just of the reef, but of the entire seafront regeneration scheme.

Making of the reef

“The initial data provided by Plymouth University will be considered alongside feedback provided by local surfers. A complete picture will be in place later in the year, when conclusions as to the extent of the reef’s success can be made and shared. It is therefore wholly inaccurate to state that the council does not intend to publish details before the full picture can be given.”

• Do you think the Plymouth University report should be available now? Let us know in the comments - and for a full report and reaction, see Friday's Daily Echo.

Related links


Comments(92)

In Absentia says...
3:04pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Oh well, that's an obvious 'no' then.

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The irate commuter says...
3:08pm Thu 4 Mar 10

I would love to know on what grounds they wish to keep this secret ?? ... to cover their own ar*es by any chance.

3rd world country or sunny Dorset ?

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GB916 says...
3:08pm Thu 4 Mar 10

I think the report should be made public,keeping it secret will only fuel the fire that may not have been a success.If it has been a failure then eventually time will show this,so always best to come clean,i meen this is not secret information that would ruin the country if the report is public.

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teeheehee says...
3:14pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Just look at webcam it dosent work money wasted...http://www.
sammon.co.uk/bmth.ht
ml

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cantique says...
3:15pm Thu 4 Mar 10

If the briefing hails the reef as a success, then the council would be all too willing to tell us. As they are not going to publish any details, we can only assume that once again they have wasted our money. Unless, of course, you know any different!

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BmthNewshound says...
3:18pm Thu 4 Mar 10

There is only one reason why the Council want to keep the report secret...because it will reveal that the surf reef was a complete waste of money, another white elephant, just like the Imax.
.
Surely the Echo could demand to see this report under the freedom of information act and perhaps also ask to see details of Councillors expense claims.

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MisterE says...
3:19pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Who's paying for this report?
Surely it can be obtained under an FoI request? What does the council have to gain in keeping it secret, unless it's detrimentally critical of them and/or the reef...?

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Glashen says...
3:20pm Thu 4 Mar 10

I have in general supported the regeneration of Boscombe, but this is disgraceful and cannot be defended. Clearly the reef is not working as intended, not to publish the report is both counter productive and against freedom of information principles since the reef and the report have both been paid for by council tax payers. I assume a freedom of information request as been filed to see this report. I also note that the decision not to publish seems to have been taken after the report as been viewed by councilors and officials, I think we may draw our own conclusions.

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colin 50 says...
3:24pm Thu 4 Mar 10

and this is the council thats wants people to believe and trust them,this is the residents money they have spent and it is the residents right to know the results of this study,seems like our laptop leader and his cronies have something to hide.

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Burton Saint says...
3:33pm Thu 4 Mar 10

We don't need a report to tell us the reef isn't working. Just go down there and watch the many surfers on the other side of the pier, none on the reef side.

I overheard a conversation in the surf shop when a staff member was speaking to a surfie who had travelled down to ride and it was clear what they thought of it.

However, the council must not be allowed to bury the report, it must be published. FOI Act will ensure that.

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Huey says...
3:37pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Totally agree with all outarged comments on here, and it clearly isn't working as intended, but wish to point out that this IS NOT the actual report (which will be public), but an INTERIM BRIEFING.

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simonhumby says...
3:37pm Thu 4 Mar 10

The report obviously condemns the reef
Keeping it secret condemns the council.
I'm a surfer, I know surf, I've been down to the pier many times. Surfers don't use the reef, it is rubbish, it has failed. Close inspection reveals that it seems to be washing away. Regeneration? New surf shops with no customers? Surf pods that won't sell? Yet the council are 'happy' with it?

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jobsworthwatch says...
3:39pm Thu 4 Mar 10

'Taken for a ride' comes to mind! Just be thankful that they weren't conned into going for a reef that extended from Boscombe pier to the end of the Southbourne promenade!

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Xchurch-man says...
3:42pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Come on Echo,
Lets have a real story, FOI request please.

We know the outcome, inept councillors, waste of taxpayers money, cover up, whitewash, etc'

Buffoons the lot of Em'
Along with the people who think buying the Imax just to demolish a perfectly serviceable building was a good use of taxpayers money.
Another decision made "in secret" without consulting the voters (all of them not the 20 or so "Boutique merchants").

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The irate commuter says...
4:02pm Thu 4 Mar 10

COME ON ECHO - PUBLISH FRONT PAGE PICTURES OF ALL INVOLVED COUNCILLORS THAT HAVE WASTED OUR MONEY & NOW WISH TO SWEEP IT UNDER THE CARPET. LET US KNOW WHO THESE INEPT, FREELOADERS WHO & THEN PASTE THEIR PICTURES ALL OVER THIS TOWN TO SHOW WHAT A CORRUPT BUNCH THEY ARE !

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Bormuf Boy says...
4:08pm Thu 4 Mar 10

I say keep it secret. It will add an air of mystery to the surf reef. It could be advertised as ''The Boscombe Surf Reef.....or is it ?!'' I'm already intrigued by the ambiguity of it all. The more i think about it the more confused i become. If a light doesnt work its easy to understand. Either there is light or there isnt. But, the surf reef might be working or it might not. It's there for all of us to see, yet nobody knows. How exciting !!

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grimreaper says...
4:13pm Thu 4 Mar 10

My leak at the council has told me :
.
"The only way it will ever work is if it is re-sited in the Imax with a wave machine and the planning application for change of use goes in tomorrow"

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caz-caz says...
4:20pm Thu 4 Mar 10

what right have these people to withold the details of this report ? it is not their money they have spent ,it belongs to US.
of course its a failure or they'd be raving about it 'we told you so... etc' but of course they dont want the cat out of the bag just prior to a general election - we're being conned as usual

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benjamin says...
4:27pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Their silence says it all!

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lilliputian says...
4:28pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Clearly this over budget and over-hyped reef scheme is a failure and the Council's reluctance to publish the findings of this report would only confirm as much. The obfuscation and evasive nature of the replies given by the Leisure Services Director, Roger Brown, when interviewed on local TV last night merely emphasised his failures to control, manage and operate this doomed scheme. His resignation, demanded by some Councillors a while back, should be forthcoming.

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nobull says...
4:30pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Na Na ne Na Na!!!

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Fred Luton says...
4:33pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Surely the echo can make a request to see the report under the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.
Well anyone should be able to do this I think.

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30850LordNelson says...
4:34pm Thu 4 Mar 10

The silence of our self-serving,snouts in the trough councillors is deafening !
But we shouldn't be surprised,can anyone think of a positive initiative that their "brilliant" minds and "consultants" have been responsible for other than lining their own pockets.

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Redgolfer says...
4:47pm Thu 4 Mar 10

ITS our MONEY the COUNCIL have wasted, how DARE they even suggest that the report is kept secret.
The council are supposed to be looking after our interest, we are certainly paying them enough, if they do not like the critics then get out of office.

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rotcoddam says...
4:47pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Come on be fair. The highly astute busniess brains at the council did negotiate holding back 150,000 of the three million pounds in case it was not satisfactory. The contractors must be totally bricking themselves now at the thought of not getting all of that retention. I shouldn't wonder if they are not sending their entire top team all the way from New Zealand to take it all apart and rebuild it for that kind of money.

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Xchurch-man says...
4:49pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Sadly I fear they will achieve the objective they seek, which is to hide the truth prior to an upcoming General Election. There will be no time for an FOI request before this. They will do this to try and prevent damage to the Parliamentary candidates from the same party as themselves.
Their silence says it all. Failure, Failure, Failure. If this was not true, as another poster has rightly said, they would be trumpeting their success from the Town Hall roof, claiming the credit in the media and on TV, and taking the political back-slapping for their party.

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reefwatching says...
5:13pm Thu 4 Mar 10

the key phrase is "verbal briefing" - this means they have (deliberately) got nothing in writing from the University, and therefore (conveniantly) have nothing to provide under a FoI request. They are good at some things - covering of backs!

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pete furtsada says...
5:16pm Thu 4 Mar 10

i think you very very wrong.

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boardstiff says...
5:20pm Thu 4 Mar 10

I wonder how the National press will view this decision and excuse - particularly in the light of the potential damage to Bournemouth and Boscombe in the build-up to the holiday season.

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reefwatching says...
5:21pm Thu 4 Mar 10

If you want names, here is a direct lift from a council report, written by Roger Brown. You can draw your own conclusions. "The procurement route for the construction of the reef is a negotiated
performance based contract with ASR Ltd, the designers of the reef,
supported by a performance bond. This was agreed with Councillors
Charon and Dunlop, the Cabinet Members with responsibility for
Procurement and Economy & Tourism respectively, in March 2008. It was
accepted that this route, which is in accordance with Para 11.1.5 of the
Council’s Contract Procedures, would substantially reduce the risks to
the Council in terms of both quality and time on this, the most
innovative element of the Boscombe Spa Village project. Councillor
Charon has been significantly involved in the negotiations on the
contract price and the Heads of Terms. The contract price and Heads of
Terms were agreed on 9 May 2008 and the contract includes a
commitment by ASR Ltd to complete the installation of the reef by the
end of this year."

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Jammy Donut says...
5:23pm Thu 4 Mar 10

From its inception the Council were taken in by the New Zealand con man. Any fool could see that dumping a load of sandbags on the seabed would not cost £3M or create waves to equal Hawaii

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SonofKinson says...
5:25pm Thu 4 Mar 10

The Daily Echo has not got the story as yet. The Ministry of Justice refuses to let the public know why Jon Venables is back in prison, and the BOURNEMOUTH COUNCIL refuses to reveal the outcome of the Surf Reef, is it working meeting of yesterday.
.
The source, BBC South tonight.
.
This is the post I placed last night after hearing the news from Roger Brown. It certainly tells a story that even after four months they can not reveal what was promised at the opening back in November. These people are more bloated in the truth than the reef itself as it wallows in full view above the waves. We are entitled to know the outcome of the meeting, interim or not. Be honest Bournemouth Leisure and tell us.

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Rally says...
6:08pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Quote: "It would also mean taking information out of context of the other monitoring that is ongoing by both Southampton and Bournemouth universities, of the coastal protection and marine biodiversity respectively.
“The universities’ studies are part of a year-long programme of monitoring and evaluation not just of the reef, but of the entire seafront regeneration scheme."
What we have in this statement by Roger Brown is a glorious Council copout in the making.
Interesting how it will be after the looming General Election that we get to learn the truth (or what passes for truth amongst Bournemouth's councilors) about this Reef and the rest of the seafront generation fiasco.

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simonhumby says...
6:10pm Thu 4 Mar 10

My guess is that BCC have decided that the easiest way out is to pay the final £150,000 (not the council's money after all). Keeping the report secret until the cheque is cashed means the public (who's money it is) have no basis on which to complain until it's too late.

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Rally says...
6:10pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Correction.
I wrote: "... and the rest of the seafront generation fiasco."
That should read: ""... and the rest of the seafront regeneration fiasco."
Sorry about that, folks.

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rotcoddam says...
6:15pm Thu 4 Mar 10

We all know full well that the pharse "no comment" from a criminal being interviewed means "yes I did it, I'm guity"

So come on Bournemouth council tell your masters ER THAT'S US THE RATEPAYERS what the report says about what you have spent our money on.

Naturally we will all draw our own conclusions from your refusal to comment.

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simonhumby says...
6:20pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Plymouth University have already said they find the reef to be well-designed and well-positioned. Do we really think their next paid-for-by-the-coun
cil report will contradict this - whatever the reality?

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Bob49 says...
6:30pm Thu 4 Mar 10

" I have in general supported the regeneration of Boscombe, but this is disgraceful and cannot be defended. "



Therein lies the problem. This scam WAS NEVER about the regeneration of Boscombe and it has been a frustrating year or so pointing this out. It was a stitch up from the start, a simple scheme to get access to a prime piece of our heritage to make money for a slect few. Many of those complaining now were previously happy to villify anyone who had the temerity post up why the regeneration was never going to happen. For some, maybe they need to try and understand how they were so easily duped by what was never more than a property development.



I would urge any of you concerned about this fiasco to move on from this inevitable failure. If there is to be a freedom of information request then let us see what provision the council have made for covering the £3m or so shortfall made up of the lack of income from the sale of the 'surf pods' and interim payments from the Moneycombe development.



The council can drag out any final report on the reef with all manner of delaying stuff. What they can't escape is that this charade is supposed to be funded by the above income streams. Let the Echo now get those figures before the 'guilty men' stand down at the next election.


The reef and the superficial tarting up of the area were doomed to failure. Our attempts to hold anyone to account for this will also be doomed if we don't focus on the real issue.


Which is how is the council going to cover (financially) the failure of this shoddy development ?

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Skono says...
6:37pm Thu 4 Mar 10

....IN A SHOUTING VOICE.

1) ROGER BROWN IN FRONT OF A BBC, SKY or ITV CAMERA TOMORROW AT THE PIER AND LET'S HAVE HIM LIE AGAIN TO THE PUBLIC THEN SO WE CAN HAVE HIM SACKED FOR HIS CONSTANT FIBBING.

2) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST TO THE COUNCIL FOR THE
DATA

3) THE HIGHEST WAVE DATA PERIOD HAS GONE BY DURING THE WINTER

4) THE REEF IS NOW DANGEROUS AND WILL KILL SOMEONE SOON

5) ASR HAVE AN UNFINISHED REEF IN SOUTH TARANAKI (OPUNAKE)NZ WITH 100% IDENTICAL ISSUES

6) STATING THE REEF IS WORKING BECAUSE IT HAS INCREASED TOURISM IS AN INSULT TO EVERY RESIDENT OF BOURNEMOUTH £3,667,555 IS OUR MONEY

7) A 'TWEAK' IS JUST LAUGHABLE

8) THE PEOPLE TO INVESTIGATE THE COUNCILS ACTIONS AND EXPENSES TRIPS TO NZ TO BE TOLD IT WONT WORK NEED TO BE MADE TO THE AUDIT COMMISSION ON 0117 975 3131...THESE GUYS ARE LIKE THE INTERNAL FEDS FOR THE COUNCILS

That number to complain to again is 0117 975 3131

Or call BBC South Today on 02380 226201 and ask for Sally Taylor or Briony and they will come back and pull the council liars apart again.

In less than 2 weeks there is a major surf contest planned for the reef which will see Bournemouth as a surfing venue laughed off the national and international surfing calender.

It is high time this pack of lies was brought to a full stop and those at the council who are responsible MUST be sacked.

HOW ABOUT VOTING WITH YOUR FEET? SATURDAY AT 12.00HRS.....EVERYON
E TO THE PIER WITH THE TV CAMERAS????

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Skono says...
6:53pm Thu 4 Mar 10

http://robnixon.blog
spot.com/2010/02/opu
nake-artificial-surf
-reef-hits.html



Guess what is happening in New Zealand???? ASR's latest reef is $1,000,000 NZD over budget and 4YEARS LATE!!! SOUND FAMILIAR

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rainbowkisses says...
7:16pm Thu 4 Mar 10

You lot don't really expect the Echo to ask their mates in the Council for this information do you? The Echo isn't interested in the truth, just sales. Anybody who expected the truth from this Council can't be living on the same planet as the rest of us. There is a reason I call Councillors SCUM, now you know why. You have a chance of getting rid of some of them come the election, lets hope you use it. I have said before, but will say it again. There is no difference between a Councilor who robs us, and one who keeps quite about it. They are all the same to me, get rid of the whole lot of freeloading scum.

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jamyjames says...
7:28pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Beesley, how much did you make out of this then?

and how did you let the Honeycombe go higher than the agreed planning height while you are Head of Planning?

Interestingly most of those overpriced Barrett homes are still on the market, so another failure.

Echo, kook into how many flats are still empty and Cllr Beesley and his alleged Conflict of interest.

Expose the scams at your readerships expense and help Kick the scamsters out!

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Xchurch-man says...
7:43pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Bared chests silly aprons and rolled up trouser legs methinks.
Nudge, Nudge Wink Wink, funny handshake!!

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R1200RT says...
7:44pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Spoke to some surfy dudes from Manchester. They have been down here for 3 days waiting for a surfable wave. I told them the cost. They laughed like drains as they headed off to Newquay. The kindest quote was you & your Council have been royally shafted.

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woolamai says...
7:49pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Yay - all down the pier at 12 on Saturday, kick them out, sack them, get rid of all the councillors and then - er, um, then what? Get some new councillors. Brilliant, genius.

Would love to join you on Saturday but I'll be surfing....do wave though if you see me.

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Bob49 says...
8:01pm Thu 4 Mar 10

" but I'll be surfing "



And it won't be Boscombe that's for sure. Another rat leaving the sinking shi*.

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jamyjames says...
8:05pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Roger Brown do something for Bournemouth, resign and save the Council some office space.

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dvdr says...
8:11pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Ratepayers merely pay for it all, as they do for council leader laptops used for ****. Why do they expect transparency here? They did not get it elsewhere. Councils are not set up for ratepayers' benefit, whatever the latter may like to think. Pigs, snouts and troughs come to mind - ethics do not!

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reefskeptic says...
8:34pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Seems that everyone who signed off on this reef are now responsible for it to be either removed, replaced or if possible repaired. Going on track record I think the first alternative is the safest. Who pays -they do of course. The cartoon on Rob Nixons blogspot from Opanake that compares their reef to the sasquash and the loch ness monster is a scream , the Bournemouth reef can be added to those as a mythical surfing location. The backlash is just beginning at more places than Bournemouth. Maybe, just everywhere these "spacecadets" of coastal engineering have been? The water 'wings" that were given to everyone have proved to be "trinkets". We all hoped and wished and they fuelled the dreams with unattainable hyperbole whilst lining their own pockets.

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R1200RT says...
8:39pm Thu 4 Mar 10

It beggars belief. It was a disappointment at Mount Maunganui but Bournemout BC still went ahead with it. Unbelievable. Those that wasted tax payers money should do the decent thing and say sorry and resign.

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reefskeptic says...
8:45pm Thu 4 Mar 10

I think that anyone who questioned what they say was bullied from any input. Disgraceful and hopefully illegal so something can now be done about it.

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Bormuf Boy says...
9:15pm Thu 4 Mar 10

It's like that episode of The Simpsons when Springfield bought the monorail........

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PTBarnum says...
9:26pm Thu 4 Mar 10

"a town with money is like a mule with a spinning wheel, danged if he knows how he got it and danged if he knows what to do with it." - Lyall Langley.
http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=AEZjzsnPh
nw
for those who have not seen it yet.

"it's more of a Newquay idea"?

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Fire_fly says...
9:26pm Thu 4 Mar 10

I have to say from the start, how can a usual flat sea become a surfers paradise. Except in stormy weather, even then it produces the wrong sort of waves apparantley.
SOS Paul Daniels.

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High Treason says...
9:39pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Xchurch-man wrote: "There will be no time for an FOI request before this. They will do this to try and prevent damage to the Parliamentary candidates from the same party as themselves."

Always voted Conservative, not again. I'm hoping there will be a UKIP canidate I can vote for, otherwise its a spoilt paper.

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sollie says...
9:44pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Future timeline goes like this:
March 2010 - reef not working - keep it quiet.
September 2010 - reef not working but public want answers. Say it's stopping erosion. Quote Southampton University report.
March 2011 - reef not working but surfers don't use it. Quote Bournemouth University made up report that one extra tourist visited area as novelty factor.
September 2011 - reef now a centre for marine habitat - breeding ground for the endangered lesser spotted Boscombe hermit crab or some other obscure species.
March 2012 - demand for beach volleyball reaches a peak and Bournemouth sells excess sand from the redundant reef to Poole BC to extend beach for extra volley pitches for £3m

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Fire_fly says...
10:06pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Yes Sollie I have to say as a Prof of Surfing and you need three GSE's for that, I can conclude from my visual findings that the Surf reef don't work. Neither did the one in New Zealand built earlier which should have served as a lesson.

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PTBarnum says...
10:07pm Thu 4 Mar 10

A protest press conference at the pier on Saturday sounds the way to start a process that might eventually nail the creatures? Especially those that were well paid and failed to deliver? Unless there are consequences on failing to deliver , what hope is there for future proper due dilligence for certainty of outcome? For fun someone might hand out the words to the "monorail song'?. That will get national attention? Better still a - full on pantomine?

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Bob49 says...
10:12pm Thu 4 Mar 10

I must say the moral outrage and indignation expressed on here has, in parts, been quite funny. As if the report was GOING to show that the reef was working as promised. Were there still people who actually harboured a trusting believe that somehow this farce was going to turn out any different ?



TAKE A GOOD HARD LOOK.




There are no smart cafes and shops on the pier front as told. The surf pod sales have zeroed and the Moneycombe scam was built way beyond the original brief. There is virtually no parking for visitors and the few who do make it down will find very limited facilities.


At what point will it finally sink in - what this was all about ? A secluded community locked away from the rest of the area. With much done to ensure it remains that way.



And still we have people bleating on about the wretched reef as if somehow a few waves on there would put all the above right.


We've been had. And will continue to do so as long as we only grumble that the mugger had dirty fingernails.

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PTBarnum says...
10:18pm Thu 4 Mar 10

"We've been had. And will continue to do so as long as we only grumble that the mugger had dirty fingernails."

Very well said and deserving as "a call to arms" to seek to and ensure that it is set right and cant happen again.

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Fire_fly says...
10:27pm Thu 4 Mar 10

The lack of due dilligence now that was how the RBS was brought down by it's former chairman in buying ABN. Oh I digress yes the council has done it's best to regenerate Southbourne/Boscombe but you can't make the English Channel into Hiwaii 5 O.

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PTBarnum says...
10:38pm Thu 4 Mar 10

But the two scientists said that it will be 5 when the pipeline-hawai was 8 on their scale of monorail performance. Also twice as often and double the size -all the way along the reef. All said with a straight face and the pretend astuteness of "Barnes Wallace"? Where did they get their qualifications on how to advise on what is real and what is not? From ebay?

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Fire_fly says...
10:50pm Thu 4 Mar 10

The only answer to this problem is for all council tax payers to trun up with surf boards and motrorised scooters to test it for ourselves.

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PTBarnum says...
10:54pm Thu 4 Mar 10

The two scientists will sell us the special wheels to get the long rides on the reef at low tide? ebay inventiveness?

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Fire_fly says...
10:55pm Thu 4 Mar 10

or turn up with motorised scooters.

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Fire_fly says...
11:00pm Thu 4 Mar 10

oh dear, next you will be suggesting surfing wheelie bins, oh hang on better than them cluttering up the streets.

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PTBarnum says...
11:07pm Thu 4 Mar 10

yes why buy some thing else that wont work off them.

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Fire_fly says...
11:13pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Wheelie bins vanish off streets as the locals take to wheelie surfing.

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PTBarnum says...
11:22pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Now this is becoming a circus on the streets instead of the circus on the beach? I like the idea of a monorail pantomine better as a form of protest. can you imagine the fun and the ridicule that would come from that towards our reef scientist ebay experts? 2x height, 2x the frequency and 5/10 when Pipeline is 8/10 all compared to what surf is at the piers and theres a full moon tonite?

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PTBarnum says...
11:32pm Thu 4 Mar 10

oh i forgot - all those attributes of wave performance -all the way along the length of the reef (as there is no wave shadows). So does that happen as it should when the waves break at the piers, Is the reef better twice as many times? does it break twice the height and is it rated at 5/10 when pipeline is 8/10 and the piers waves (at half the time, half the height) 3/10? So we need two university teams of scientists to evaluate that over a year? Thats a very complex call to make? Double the height, twice as often , all the way along the length of the reef and 5/8ths the quality of the banzai pipeline? 3.7million pounds says that it is performing that way? As Asr says -"we just dont understand the surfing economic science involved?"

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grimreaper says...
11:40pm Thu 4 Mar 10

Get some cans of freezer spray and use it as a ski slope ?
.
Or use it as a landing ramp for the stunt bikes coming down Sea Road ?

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PTBarnum says...
11:49pm Thu 4 Mar 10

grimreaper - yes everything and anything except what it was meant for. Its just too obvious that it fails the simplest test of what was specified. 2x height, 2x as often, Length (of ride of 2x height) =football pitch all when compared to the piers waves at any time. Sell it on ebay as a pipeline lookalike (5/8 scale)? bids starting at one peppercorn ?

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gr82bheard says...
12:26am Fri 5 Mar 10

Does anybody know if residents can get help from goverment to halt this council recklessly selling land such as honeycombe chine , once belonging to the people of Bournemouth. Who does hold them to account if the family silver is being given away to developers or through dodgy deals with certain favoured businessmen??

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PTBarnum says...
7:17am Fri 5 Mar 10

http://www.lgo.org.u
k/

the local government ombudsman is where to start a complaint process.
"The Local Government Ombudsman looks at complaints about councils and some other authorities, including education admissions appeal panels. It is a free service. Our job is to investigate complaints in a fair and independent way - we do not take sides"
They will look for flawed process and identify issues if they exist. The reef approval process was "squeeky clean?" due dilgence obviously abundant by the way it has delivered on its promises 2x,2x, all theway and 5/8th of the banzi pipeline.
Of course its so obvious that all has been delivered for 3.7mill?

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Dorset Mitch says...
7:53am Fri 5 Mar 10

For starters, there isn't a report yet, it was a verbal conversation between the University and the council, so request all you want all you will get is a blank sheet of A4. Also taking this through the courts will cost taxpayers more money. Have any of you been to Cornwall/North Devon in the summer flatter than a pancake yet the 'line ups' are full up. This might bring more people to 'surf' Dorset. I know the reef is designed for experianced surfers and they should be the ones to use it. Lets face it they could of lost is all in Iceland.

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jamyjames says...
8:24am Fri 5 Mar 10

Beesley, Brown and the rest of you greedy CLOWNS have sold out Boscombe for your own selfish ends. You have ruined a place of beauty with the Moneycombe ripp off.

If this was the middle ages you would be burnt at the stake. As its 2010 perhaps we should all withould our council tax untill you are fired and prosecuted.

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lilliputian says...
9:06am Fri 5 Mar 10

I can't agree that this has been money totally wasted-after all Roger Brown and his chums did get an all-expenses paid tour to New Zealand to see an ASL working reef & we wouldn't begrudge them having that with our money, would we? Odd though that the fact that it wasn't working even there doesn't seem to have deterred them! If one was of a less charitable disposition one might almost be thinking corruption!

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Mickeypat says...
9:59am Fri 5 Mar 10

Surely we the tax payer have a right to know how our money is being spent. These idiots running our town have gone too far this time. Bafoons the lot of them. Our town is being run by mindless fuddy duddies with purple rinses and silver spoons lodged firmly in their chops. It's a real shame that the council jobs are not given on merit via interview. Surely anything is better than allowing them to get in on the back of apathetic non voting members of the public.

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simonhumby says...
1:03pm Fri 5 Mar 10

If anyone wants to put a request for the secret report Chris Saunders is the person to ask at the BCC

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Trifecta says...
5:50pm Fri 5 Mar 10

Before people get too hot under the collar about the quite frankly appalling performance of Mr Beasley and his merry men can we remember that the whole charade was signed off by Angela Manton and her particular bunch of, let's be kind and say at best inept colleagues, Lib.Dems. Why do you think that the normally loud and brash Alderman Fudge has suddenly gone all coy ?

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Up with the partridge says...
6:30pm Fri 5 Mar 10

It should be named the ripple machine

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BBOYS says...
7:35pm Fri 5 Mar 10

YOU ALL SOUND SUPRISED BY THE OUTCOME OF THE REEF,AND HOW OUR FANTASTIC COUNCIL HAVE DELT WITH IT ALL..THIS IS THE COUNCIL THAT SOLD THE IMAX LAND FOR A FEW QUID AND NOW ITS COST US MILLIONS TO GET BACK,THIS IS THE COUNCIL THAT SAID JOBS IN THE TOWN HALL AND SERVICES WIL BE OK AND NO ONE WILL LOSE THEIR JOBS. BUT LITTLE DO THE PUBLIC KNOW THAT JOBS IN THE PARKS AND OTHER SERVICES WILL BE CUT,THIS IS THE COUNCIL THAT PROMISED THAT THE WINTER GARDENS WIL BE RESTORED TO A GREAT VENUE,THIS IS THE COUNCIL WHO DECIEDED TO CLOSE THE BIC SWIMMING POOL AND ARE THINKING AND ASKING THE PUBLIC OF HAVING ONE IN THE IMAX.....DEAR OH DEAR OH DEAR...WHAT IS GOING ON WITH MY LOVELY BOURNEMOUTH......

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grimreaper says...
8:30pm Fri 5 Mar 10

DIVIDE AND RULE and you can get away with MURDER. !!
.
Anarchy and Revolution let's Kick BUTT ??

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simonhumby says...
1:45pm Sat 6 Mar 10

gr82bheard wrote:
Does anybody know if residents can get help from goverment to halt this council recklessly selling land such as honeycombe chine , once belonging to the people of Bournemouth. Who does hold them to account if the family silver is being given away to developers or through dodgy deals with certain favoured businessmen??
They will sell everything that makes Boscombe a nice place to live in.
Honeycomb chime is gone. King's Park is going. More of Shelly Park is going. Boscombe cliff top is going - it is the divine right of BCC to sell anything they want to bolster their gigantic egos, enrich their developer friends and fund their own pensions.

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BmthNewshound says...
9:17am Sun 7 Mar 10

This story has now made the national papers . Main article on page 7 of yesterdays Daily Telegraph headed "Bournemouth's great barrier grief" and two articles in the online edition are quite damming.
.
There is more than a little of the “emperor’s new clothes” about the whole surf reef fiasco.... egotistical councillors and incompetent council officers taken in by the sales patter of ASR.
.
I would like to see a public enquiry into the whole Surf Reef fiasco. One of the questions I would like answered is If these artificial surf reefs are so brilliant why is it the only one in the northern hemisphere ? (Clue to answer – because no other council is cursed by such incompetent and arrogant councillors and officers)

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simonhumby says...
7:29pm Tue 9 Mar 10

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ABUSE? The council have told me that they don't need to publish the report because Plymouth University didn't give them a copy of the presentation and no-one bothered to take notes.
Obviously our councillors are such clever people that they don't need to write things down like the rest of us 'cos they can rely on their superhuman memories.
- Either that or the whole story stinks.

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t.p.forster says...
7:50pm Tue 9 Mar 10

Were all of the decisions for this project made by elected councilors? Did you cast your vote as a good citizen should? Do you really have a right to comment if you did do your duty as a citizen and take part in the local political charade? Sorry to say but we have the politicians we deserve and cannot call foul and yet deny responsibility.

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Rally says...
10:53pm Tue 9 Mar 10

simonhumby wrote:
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ABUSE? The council have told me that they don't need to publish the report because Plymouth University didn't give them a copy of the presentation and no-one bothered to take notes. Obviously our councillors are such clever people that they don't need to write things down like the rest of us 'cos they can rely on their superhuman memories. - Either that or the whole story stinks.
If what Simon was told is true, then our illustrious councillors are less rogues and more fools.
It is hard to tell in this instance which is the worst ...
p.s. My wife and I visited Boscombe Pier last Sunday afternoon.
Persons surfing the Reef: 0
Persons surfing on the west side of the Pier: 8 or 9.
Is it usually this way?

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horizon says...
12:23am Wed 10 Mar 10

A director of asr Shaw mead is going to be a speaker at a reef symposium to be held at Bondi, Australia on the 27 th of march,! ??

Here is what he thinks of himself,
( have a brown paper-bag handy)

Shaw Mead is currently an environmental scientist and Managing Director at
ASR Ltd, which is a marine consulting and research organization based at one of
New Zealand’s premier surfing locations, Raglan, where research and pleasure
come together daily. Dr. Mead's background in coastal oceanography and
marine ecology, specialising in hydrodynamic numerical modelling, coastal
processes, offshore submerged reefs, coastal protection and amenity
enhancement, and ecological assessment, allows him to effectively bridge the
multi-disciplinary gap between physical processes and marine ecological
impacts. His PhD thesis in physical oceanography is based on a series of peer-
reviewed papers that together with more than 30 popular articles, have presented
novel techniques to record the shape of surfing reefs, specify the breaking tube
condition and to break-down surfing reefs into their morphological components
using numerical modelling. Shaw's research and consulting have led to
advances in our knowledge of offshore reefs for the development of multiple-use
structures (coastal protection, amenities such as surfing, wind-surfing, diving,
fishing, and ecological enhancement), and have incorporated numerical
modelling of waves, currents and sediment transport to develop the designs and
assess the impacts of coastal structures over a large range of spatial and
temporal scales.
.........

All this intelligence and he is responsible for repeating a failed reef THREE TIMES !!
Or, is it possible he is part of a blatant scam,
and might also own shares in geotextiles

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sherlock_holmes says...
8:36am Wed 10 Mar 10

THE CASE OF THE missing MONOWAVE

The case of the missing MILLIONS and the MONOWAVE has now been opened by the request of the local surfers. They said its a One WAVE WONDER! Watch this space as watson and sherlock reveal what has happened to the missing millions and why the monowave is a one wave wonder. Sherlock and Watson will leave no scumbag alone untill the millions or promised and purchased wave shape is recovered.

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joelflynn says...
2:08pm Wed 10 Mar 10

If anyone would be interested in making their opinion on this issue heard I will be recording a radio piece tomorrow on Boscombe beach for The Bay 102.8. It would be great to get some local voices heard as it seems to be mostly the council who get to say what they want about the reef. If anyone wishes to contact me personally to talk about this please do so. My contact details are available on my website: http://www.joelmflyn
n.com

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mikal mhor says...
9:43pm Wed 10 Mar 10

good4u joel!
head investigative journalist of a global current affairs show is in store foir you when you expose all the obvious facts that are undeniable. Most people know but feel unable to speak what they see. Thats your job to help people come to terms with the "awefull truth" no matter where it leads. The very best of british to you and your mission of seeking the truth even if its the "awefull truth " - if it is so.

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