BCP beach deckchair hire to return this summer

The halt to the long running rental service sparked a big response from beachgoers with many claiming deckchairs are ‘part and parcel to the seaside experience’.

However, BCP Council’s portfolio holder for tourism and active health has told the Echo that the deckchair service will return on Saturday April 9, and that he feels “very positive” for summer this year.

Cllr Mohan Iyengar said: “There are no surprises, the service will come back on April 9, and we’ll go just like we have in previous seasons.

“The main reason it was stopped last year was fundamentally down to Covid. Firstly, these are high touch items used by various different people and government restrictions at the time were still pretty strict. It was a time when playgrounds for example were closed due to them being high touch environments and we had to make the same decision for the deckchair service.”

Deckchairs to return to Bournemouth beaches on April 9, 2022

Last year, former council leader Vikki Slade said it was her understanding the decision to remove the service was more to do with fears over anti-social behaviour as opposed to Covid.

She said the main concern centred on fears about the furniture being used as a weapon.

• Read more: No beach deckchair hire this summer due to 'disorder fears'

Reacting to the service returning, Cllr Slade said: “I am aware that they will be back and added to with sun loungers. It was ridiculous they were removed on spurious grounds last year when evidence [showed] Covid was not spread by contact with such services.”

When in operation, the seafront rental offering earns the council around £200,000 each year.

Cllr Mohan Iyengar provides update on BCP deckchairs

While describing the returning deckchair provision as a positive step, Cllr Iyengar said he “can’t tell” whether the upcoming months will fully resemble a pre-Covid summer season.

“I feel very positive about this summer, and it will be different to the last,” said the Canford Cliffs representative.

“It will also be different to pre-Covid summers as we’re not completely out of the woods yet. There will be a good number of people, residents and visitors, who are vulnerable and still taking precautions so won’t come to the seafront.

“The other thing is that people can now fly abroad. So a lot of visitors who came last year because they couldn’t go abroad now have that option again. That goes both ways though because foreign visitors can now also come here so we have to accommodate for these changes.”