A MARINE expert yesterday confirmed what its critics have been saying for months – Europe’s first artificial surf reef is not working in the way civic chiefs had envisaged.

Dr Mark Davidson from Plymouth University gave the £4 million Boscombe tourist attraction a score of just four out of ten in a scale of its success.

Revealing his long-awaited findings, following six months of monitoring, Dr Davidson said: “It’s a bit of a mixed bag. The reef has produced a new, more exciting and challenging surfing wave.

“But it falls short on a number of criteria. The length of the ride – 40 metres or less – is a long way short of the promised 65 metres. Another area where the reef is falling short is consistency.”

It had been expected that the reef would at least match the beach in terms of the number of surfing days. But surfing conditions are less consistent than on the beach.

Speaking before a council briefing, Dr Davidson said he had ridden the waves at Boscombe while measuring the reef’s effectiveness.

He said: “I took a comprehensive set of measurements, recording my position as I moved around the reef.

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THE £3 million surf reef is an integral part of the Boscombe Spa Village project which looks likely to end up costing more than £11.3 million; a far cry from the £8.29 million estimate and an increase of almost £300,000 in the past year.

While controversy continues to rage over the success of the reef another aspect of the regeneration scheme is also proving a headache for civic chiefs.

The designer surf pods are proving tough to sell and the council is considering borrowing money to make up the shortfall.

So far only eight of 43 Wayne Hemingway-designed pods have been bought, prompting the council to reduce prices and switch selling agents.

But, despite the soaring costs and persistent speculation surrounding the reef’s effectiveness, the project is still being hailed a success having won a string of awards, boosted visitor numbers and breathed much-needed new life into Boscombe seafront.

"I measured how long the ride was, relative to the reef, and collected data which I used to assess its success.”

Dr Davidson stressed that the number of people who can use the reef is limited, adding: “It was meant to be for intermediate surfers but it is suited to more advanced surfers.”

However, he believes the reef can be improved and, with investment, put right.

Read Dr Davidson's criteria and assesment here: Artificial Surf Reef - 6 month assesment.doc

“Boscombe is a particularly difficult location because of its wave climate; it was always going to be a challenging project. Possibly public expectation was a little bit too optimistic and promises made were unrealistic.”

Bournemouth council’s service director for leisure Roger Brown said: “Obviously there is an element of some disappointment but I always thought the reef would probably need some modifications.

“Our contractors ASR have agreed with the performance assessment and are committed to carrying out this work.

“It’s not just their final payment of £150,000 that is at stake; it’s also their reputation. I’m optimistic that the ride length can be improved, the take-off speed can be reduced and surfing can be made less difficult.

The surf reef at low tide...

“We need a licence to carry out further work, ASR have to sort out visas to bring personnel here from New Zealand and additional geotextile bags may have to be manufactured and brought to the UK.

“It’s possible that it could happen this summer but it could be next spring before we’ve jumped through all the necessary hoops.”