Company Behind Boscombe Reef Goes Bust

Bournemouth Council has confirmed the company which built the Boscombe Surf Reef has gone into liquidation.

It's being claimed the company - which is based in New Zealand - ceased trading back in September 2012.

It was supposed to be doing repair work on the reef (which was damaged by a boat repeller last year), but the work was never carried out.

Bournemouth Council say this latest development won't impact on repairing the reef and they will re-open it some time in the future.

Boscombe Surf Reef

Mark Smith, Service Director for Tourism said:

"We are actively pursuing our insurance claim for the propeller damage so the necessary repairs can be commissioned and our work on developing the Coastal Activity Park can get underway. 

"The nature of these repairs does not require the specialist skills that ASR had, so the liquidation of ASR does not impact on the pursuit of our insurance claim or the plans for the reef. 

"The Council has made it clear that no additional taxpayers money will be spent enhancing the reef?s performance for surfing, and that position remains unchanged."

He added:

"Before the reef was damaged it was being used for much more than just surfing. It remains a key part of the offer at Boscombe and integral to the Coastal Activity Park. The huge potential of the reef as an all year round attraction can be more fully developed through this latest Coastal Communities Fund initiative to ensure that it contributes still more to the economic regeneration of the area. These plans include a commercial dive centre, a try-dive facility and a dive & snorkel trail around the existing reef, with additional submerged artefacts for more experienced divers."

"Whilst it was always known that the number of surfing days would be limited by weather conditions, it was an unexpected benefit that the Reef should become so popular for other types of watersports activity, depending on the prevailing conditions on any given day. Surfing and bodyboarding of course, but also, on calmer days it had become a draw for kayakers, stand up paddle-boarders and snorkelers, keen to catch a glimpse of the teams of marine life that have now colonised the reef. The innovative dive trail proposed as part of the Coastal Activity Park will add to the interest we already know exists on the structure, and the extension of the opportunities and facilities for newcomers to a whole range of pursuits means that more and more people will, once it is reopened, begin to enjoy the reef as a leisure amenity for a variety of watersports activities."