Britain’s £3.2million Artificial Surf Reef CLOSED 0
Britain’s artificial surf reef has sunk to new depths after it was declared unsafe and closed to the public.
The controversial £3.2million reef, the first of its kind in Europe, has been plagued by controversy since it opened off Bournemouth beach in Dorset, in 2009.
The underwater structure that was meant to have transformed the resort into a surfers’ paradise has hardly been used because it produces the wrong sort of wave.
Now it has been declared a no-go zone after a routine inspection found ‘substantial changes’ to the reef’s shape has started to produce dangerous under-currents.
It is thought the concern is that surfers could risk drowning by being sucked down into gaps that have appeared in the structure as a result of the changes.
The local council is now ‘erring on the side of caution’ and has closed the reef, which is 750ft out to sea off the Boscombe area of the resort.
It consists of 55 giant submerged sand-filled bags, which are believed to have been displaced and require repositioning.
A Bournemouth council spokesman said: ‘A routine inspection carried out on March 23 shows that substantial changes have altered the profile of the reef structure.
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