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INQUIRY DEMANDED OVER '£3m SURF REEF FLOP' FURIOUS councillors are demanding an inquiry into how Boscombe’s surf reef became “a £3 million flop.” They were devastated to discover that claims there would be bigger waves and more surf days had been watered down since the idea of the reef was first put forward. And they claim it has “made Bournemouth look stupid” and will ruin the resort’s reputation. They told the Daily Echo councillors did not realise they were no longer hoping for waves enhanced by between two and 2.2 times when contracts were signed. They also believed the number of surf days would double or treble, which was not the case. “How the hell can the council and the people of Bournemouth be treated like this?” said Cllr Basil Ratcliffe. “I am going to make a formal complaint to the Chief Executive – we, as a council, have been misled. This is unbelievable.” And Cllr Ben Grower added: “The criteria were changed and it was not made absolutely clear to the council. Now an expert has admitted that surfing conditions on the reef are less consistent than they are on the beach.” Marine expert Dr Mark Davidson from Plymouth University gave the reef a score of just four out of ten and said it falls short on a number of criteria in a report presented to councillors on Monday. And the news has attracted adverse publicity for Bournemouth, which hoped to attract thousands more visitors to Europe’s first artificial reef. “I think it is evident that we have a £3 million flop on our hands,” said Cllr Grower. “It will affect our reputation greatly because we did not do our homework.” Cllr Ratcliffe added: “There has been widespread publicity about Bournemouth having a surf reef but we shouted too soon – it has made the town look stupid.” Read full article on Bournemouth Echo website. - - -