No return for pier pleasure boats after beach deaths

Pleasure boats have not used the pier since the two deaths in May 2023

Pleasure boats suspended after the sea deaths of two young people will not operate from Bournemouth Pier in 2025, a council has said.

They were stopped after Joe Abbess, 17, from Southampton, and Sunnah Khan, 12, from Buckinghamshire, drowned following an "intense" rip current in May 2023.

Dorset's coroner Rachael Griffin ruled out a pleasure cruiser's involvement in their deaths, which she concluded were accidental in October.

BCP Council said it would spend £9.5m of government money on restoring the pier, and so was not currently "actively considering" boats operating from it.

Rich Herrett, BCP Council's cabinet member for destination, leisure and commercial operations said the authority's focus was the renovation work.

He said the pier's substructure was "a complex element that's largely made up of submerged reinforced concrete piles".

Mr Herrett said: "These need substantial restoration work to protect them from corrosion in the harsh aquatic environment, so that the pier can continue to be enjoyed by residents and future generations for decades to come.

"This focus means we have not actively considered the prospect of boat operations resuming from Bournemouth Pier in 2025."