BCP Council (Bournemouth): Matt is pleased to confirm that planning permissions have been granted for renewed permissions at two very popular beach restaurants. Both were approved at Planning Committee a couple of weeks back.
The first to be approved on the day of the committee was for W Beach which is linked with West Beach restaurant which is on the promenade just adjacent to the Western side of Bournemouth Pier. Westbeach is a well established restaurant which opened in May 2000 and so they have been in this location for almost 25 years! This proposal sought to to extend the previous 2-year permission for a further 2-year period to include both 2025 and 2026 summers.
Being within the Town Centre, policy CS7 indicates that this is the most appropriate location for retail, cultural, leisure and business uses. It had previously been concluded that the temporary loss of a relatively small area of beach in the summer period and even smaller in the Winter is not significant and would not result in the proposal being contrary to Policy CS31 (Recreation, Play and Sports). Furthermore the benefits of having a facility that people can enjoy on the beach is fully supported by economy and the tourism policies as set out in policy CS29. The pop up beach restaurant known as W Beach was considered by Members of the Committee to contribute to the tourist function of the seafront area. During the summer period the officers agreed that a more intensive operation was acceptable given it’s location close to the pier which is a busy hotspot and consider that a smaller decking area can remain during the winter when there are still many visitors still about, particularly on nicer days .
Turning to El Murrino Beachside, this was a different tourism offering. This is located mid way between Boscombe and Bournemouth Pier. This location is a quieter part of the beach when compared with West Beach and it is somewhat isolated not being surrounded by other tourist facilities. It was for this very reason that this location was identified by BCP themselves so that a family friendly dining experience could be provided – dispersing the footfall down the beach in line with the Tourism Strategy and in contrast to the more beverage-led facilities sited closer to the pier.
El Murrino, a long established local Italian restaurant company with two existing restaurants in Bournemouth, won the tender for the ’21 & ’22 summer seasons and then in 2023 they won the tender for a 5 year contract. So El Murrino has been operating from this site for the last four summers and has now become and established summer feature. However at a previous Planning committee in April this facility was only granted for a 1 year permission. So sadly, if planning permission had not of been granted then there would have been no facility there next summer which would have been a massive missed opportunity for the town.
Thankfully Members of the Planning Committee were in full support of both proposals as they agreed that both beach restaurants attract many holiday makers, but also crucially will provide improved beachfront amenities for local residents, dog walkers, runners, swimmers to name a few. The provision of al fresco dining was considered to make a positive contribution to the creation of a world class beach resort, thus promoting economic development in the form of an improved tourism offer whilst not detrimentally impacting on the character and appearance or openness of the beach.
Bring on Summer 2025!!!