What's happened to the palm trees on Bournemouth seafront?

Mystery surrounds the exact locations of the palm trees formerly situated on Bournemouth seafront near the Oceanarium.

The eight palms were removed from the site in April last year due to risk of damage from “severe weather” and vandalism, BCP Council said.

However, details on where the plants have been moved appears to be unknown.

Picture by Jan Wayman (Image: Jan Wayman)

A BCP Council spokesperson said: “A group of eight palm trees were removed from the area around the pier and replanted over a year ago, back in April 2021.

“We took this decision due to increasing risks of damage from severe weather at this exposed seafront location as well as vandalism.

“We wanted to give the iconic palms the best possible chance to continue to grow and thrive, and have found new homes for them across alternative public spaces in the BCP area.”

BCP Council said it was unable to confirm the exact locations of where the group of palm trees were moved in the area as a contractor was used to move them.

The council also said there are no plans to bring the palm trees back to the seafront.

The spokesperson added: “Palms are a common addition to the seafront however we have no plans to bring palms back to the location in front of the Oceanarium at the current time.”

Ian Harrison, a regular visitor to Bournemouth, contacted the Daily Echo to ask what had happened to the trees.

Ian said: “Palms have been at the entrance to the beach for many, many years, always a landmark that depicted the warm climate of the south coast.”

Coast With The Most (Image: Coast With The Most)

The palm trees also feature on an image as part of a council 'Feels Like' campaign comparing Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole to the likes of Los Angeles, Spain and Greece.

A picture on the Coast With The Most website shows the former palm trees on Bournemouth seafront along with the slogan 'Feels Like Florida'.