Special meeting may reveal Boscombe surf reef secrets (From Bournemouth Echo)

Special meeting may reveal Boscombe surf reef secrets

8:30am Monday 8th March 2010 in

By Darren Slade » Chief Reporter

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A SPECIAL meeting of all Bournemouth councillors could be called in a bid to reveal what the experts have said about Boscombe’s surf reef.

No details have so far been disclosed of the advice given by Plymouth University experts who were hired to judge whether the £3 million reef was working properly.

Many surfers have claimed the reef doesn’t create the waves it was intended to, with some saying it needs “tweaks” and others insisting it can’t be made to work.

Veteran Independent councillor Ron Whittaker is furious that the contents of last week’s briefing to council officials have not been revealed.

The only way we seem to get any information is through the Echo
Cllr Ron Whittaker

He says he has enough support to call a special council meeting over the issue if necessary.

“I’m hoping this will place pressure on the council leader to call members in for a special presentation and make a clear statement to the media on what the interim talks were about,” he said.

He said he had never encountered such a lack of information in his 39-year stint on the council. “There’s got to be trust between the officers and the leadership and the ordinary members of the council. The only way we seem to get any information is through the Echo,” he said.

He added: “If there’s something seriously wrong, we should really be told.”

The council now says the advice from Plymouth University will form part of a report to the authority’s ruling cabinet on April 28. The Plymouth advice could determine whether ASR, the contractor which built the reef, will get a £75,000 payment from the £149,000 it is still owed for its work.

Council Conservative leader, Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin, said the row about the reef advice was a “storm in a teacup”.

“As far as I’m aware no elected members have received the report from Plymouth University and we wouldn’t expect members to do that,” he said. “What I would expect is that the officers of the council see that the conditions of the contract with ASR are being properly discharged.”

Cllr MacLoughlin said he thought it was “too early to say” whether the reef was working.

But he said the situation looked “very positive” and insisted feedback from many surfers was good. “I accept not all surfers are saying it’s performing as we would like but overall we’re getting the impression surfers are satisfied with its performance,” he said.

Cllr Phil Stanley-Watts, Conservative ward councillor for Boscombe West, said he was frustrated about the lack of information on the reef.

“It’s got to be completely open. It’s no good going behind closed doors and talking about the surf reef because people come to all different conclusions, especially people it’s aimed at, the surfers. They want to know what’s going on.”

Comments(23)

Skono says...
9:11am Mon 8 Mar 10

Here we go again.

Mr MacCloughlin inflammatory and ill conceived comments over a 'Storm in a tea-cup' should be enough to have him brought to task on their own as a supposed leader.

The issue as I see it is that many voices are shouting that the reef does not, can not, and will not work yet the council representatives keep dismissing these claims using ridiculous words like 'tweak, increased tourism and coastal erosion'. one of which justifies the wasted £3.6m spend on the Great White Elephant.

What I feel needs to happen is that the many voices become one channelled voice that enables reporters and sceptics to be able to dismiss their idiotic responses as soon as they utter the words. I strongly believe that the councillors are playing a game of verbal tennis (just keep whacking them back even if the don't go in, just whack them back with crazy shots)

The other issue is that none of the people claiming it works have ever used the blasted reef nor are surfers, windsurfers or kitesurfers. Have any of you ever seen MacCloughlin out there? Possibly too busy 'in the privacy of his own bedroom with his laptop' I would suggest.

The next thing that will happen is that 6 month chunks will be added to the time line and £79k will be released for 'fear of being sued' by ASR, then the council will withhold the final payment and claim the whole thing as a success as they saved £79k off the final bill.

Then will come the further claims of coastal protection and rare marine life and we will be stuck with it until it kills someone by breaking their neck or pinning them in one of its gaping holes.

As I have said previously, the big winter waves are gone now so any data supplied from now on will not show a true reflection of what it produces, even after they moved the wave buoy half way through the survey (oh did they not tell you that?)

My real concerns are
:

1) How did a group of councillors go to New Zealand to be told 'ASR ARE TERRIBLE AND IT WILL NOT WORK' yet we still went ahead?

2) Why can we not claim on the insurance policy and get our £3,654,555 back?

3) Why do ASR have 6 reefs in the world, none of which work, all of which were finished at least a year late and well over budget and most worryingly one of which was REMOVED FOR BEING DANGEROUS?

4) Why are none of the people who the publics comments of disapproval are being aimed against being disciplined? If I acted as they have done in my job I would be sacked for gross misconduct.

Thanks for your time everyone.

One channelled voice I think is what is called for...any ideas?

And don't forget to make that call to The Audit Commission to complain about what the council have done 0117 975 3131, these guys want to hear your thoughts

Here we go again. Mr MacCloughlin inflammatory and ill conceived comments over a 'Storm in a tea-cup' should be enough to have him brought to task on their own as a supposed leader. The issue as I see it is that many voices are shouting that the reef does not, can not, and will not work yet the council representatives keep dismissing these claims using ridiculous words like 'tweak, increased tourism and coastal erosion'. one of which justifies the wasted £3.6m spend on the Great White Elephant. What I feel needs to happen is that the many voices become one channelled voice that enables reporters and sceptics to be able to dismiss their idiotic responses as soon as they utter the words. I strongly believe that the councillors are playing a game of verbal tennis (just keep whacking them back even if the don't go in, just whack them back with crazy shots) The other issue is that none of the people claiming it works have ever used the blasted reef nor are surfers, windsurfers or kitesurfers. Have any of you ever seen MacCloughlin out there? Possibly too busy 'in the privacy of his own bedroom with his laptop' I would suggest. The next thing that will happen is that 6 month chunks will be added to the time line and £79k will be released for 'fear of being sued' by ASR, then the council will withhold the final payment and claim the whole thing as a success as they saved £79k off the final bill. Then will come the further claims of coastal protection and rare marine life and we will be stuck with it until it kills someone by breaking their neck or pinning them in one of its gaping holes. As I have said previously, the big winter waves are gone now so any data supplied from now on will not show a true reflection of what it produces, even after they moved the wave buoy half way through the survey (oh did they not tell you that?) My real concerns are : 1) How did a group of councillors go to New Zealand to be told 'ASR ARE TERRIBLE AND IT WILL NOT WORK' yet we still went ahead? 2) Why can we not claim on the insurance policy and get our £3,654,555 back? 3) Why do ASR have 6 reefs in the world, none of which work, all of which were finished at least a year late and well over budget and most worryingly one of which was REMOVED FOR BEING DANGEROUS? 4) Why are none of the people who the publics comments of disapproval are being aimed against being disciplined? If I acted as they have done in my job I would be sacked for gross misconduct. Thanks for your time everyone. One channelled voice I think is what is called for...any ideas? And don't forget to make that call to The Audit Commission to complain about what the council have done 0117 975 3131, these guys want to hear your thoughts Skono