About BIS

Poole Bay coast protection & flood defence

Bournemouth Beach Improvement Schemes (BIS)

Bournemouth beach loses approximately 70,000 m³ of material annually (1 million m³ every 13 years. Since the predominant direction of longshore transport in Poole Bay is from west to east, sand gradually feeds the beaches at Southbourne and Hengistbury Head to the east, and beyond into Christchurch Bay.

The shoreline has been replenished on several occasions in recent years and is now effectively an artificial beach. These projects are referred to as 'Beach Improvement Schemes' (BIS):

Scheme	Year	Quantity of sand (m^³)
BIS1	1970	84,000
BIS2	1974/75	1,400,000
BIS3	1988/89	1,000,000
BIS4.1	2005/06	600,000
BIS4.2	2006/07	898,000*
BIS4.3	2008	70,000
BIS4.4	2009	70,000
*included 15,000m³ stockpiled for the Boscombe surf reef

In the past Bournemouth Council has carried out "boom & bust" replenishment schemes, where the beach is delivered with a large quantity of material (e.g. 1974/75) and left until much of it is lost before further replenishment (e.g. 1988/89).

Beach Improvement Scheme 4.1 (2005/06) was part of a wider scheme that incorporated the replenishment of other beaches within Poole Bay using sand dredged from Poole Harbour [more]. The project continued at Bournemouth during the winter of 2006/2007, between Boscombe and Alum Chine, using a further 700,000 cubic metres of sand from a Licensed Dredging Area off the Isle of Wight [BIS4.2].

During the three years 2008-2010 the council pledged to make good the annual losses to keep the beach at a constant level and volume (BIS4.3 - 4.5). Replenishment is localised and takes just a few days. It is undertaken during winter months in order to minimise disturbance to public access & enjoyment.

Beach Improvement Scheme 4.3 - March 2008 - replenished the beach between Groyne No's 28-32 (Boscombe & Southbourne).

Beach Improvement Scheme 4.4 - March 2009 - replenished the beach between Groyne No's 50-53 at Southbourne.

The location for BIS4.5 has yet to be determined.

This product includes mapping data licences from Ordnance Survey © Crown Copyright and/or database right License Number 10024248

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