It might not have been much like beach weather recently, but hopefully we will all soon be able to enjoy a day at the seaside and to make this safer for all, BCP Council has upgraded its BCPBeachCheck app.

Launched in July last year to help beach-goers comply with social distancing, the app now provides live information on car-parking spaces and locations for toilet facilities, barbecues and dog-friendly areas as well as the live traffic light system for its 15-mile coastline along Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole helping visitors and residents alike avoid busy hotspots in time for the summer season.

As before, the user can check a particular beach from Sandbanks to Highcliffe and see a map indicating the busier areas (red), less busy beaches (amber) and those with plenty of available space (green). Now anyone who downloads the app can also see if any locations are temporarily closed and find out how many spaces are available at a number of BCP Council-operated car parks helping them to plan their journey. They will also be able to discover where toilet facilities are located and where they can walk their dog.

The app is free to download and available from Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Plans to roll the app out nationally are currently underway.

Chris Saunders, director of destination and culture, said: “As we have been voted the UK’s best beach we know we are the place to visit this year and this app will enhance that experience by helping you to plan your visit.

“This app has proven to be incredibly popular – around 40,000 downloads were recorded last year – and we’re committed to ensuring that we can continue to encourage residents and visitors (where permitted, of course) to keep as safe as they can while this pandemic continues.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer an even better version and hope that we can help you to locate spaces at car parks during busy periods and enable you to have the best experience you can.”

The app can be downloaded at https://www.bournemouth.co.uk/things-to-do/beaches