With national newspapers carrying photos of people in the region basking in the recent high temperatures, it has been revealed that more than 400,000 visitors visited the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole areas over the hottest weekend of 2021. A total of 810 parking tickets were issued.

BCP Council has therefore decided to keep its dedicated multi-agency summer response plan in place.

• 89 tonnes of waste was collected from the 650 plus additional bins.
• More than 40 missing children were reunited with families and guardians
• Toilets remained opened late with additional cleansing put in place
• A 24-hour beach patrol took action against those illegally camping with nine tents removed
• Over 570 people used the park and ride service at Kings Park, Boscombe.
• As local roads became congested the council and police put in place temporary road closures at Boscombe and Sandbanks to alleviate queuing traffic.
• Council owned seafront catering kiosks experienced their busiest ever day trading Saturday, exceeding even that of Air Festival weekends.

Cllr Drew Mellor, leader of BCP Council, said: “Given we have the UK’s best beach it’s no surprise that we saw exceptional visitors to our area. Hotels have been full, and restaurants and bars busy which is fantastic and much needed for our area. We promised we would make 2021 the year of opportunity and we’re delighted to see the many businesses and attractions in full swing, with visitors and locals alike enjoying themselves.

“We were also very pleased that there was a real improvement on the scenes witnessed last year and our multi agency command control centre was in full operation, and remains in place until the end of September. This oversees the seasonal plan’s day and evening operations, responding in real time to issues that arise when the resort experiences an increase in visitor numbers. We did see an increase in those choosing to park irresponsibly and our enforcement team were on the ground dealing with this as we issued more parking tickets yesterday than on the busiest day last year. We will continue to look at how we can improve our efforts on this one area that is still causing significant problems whilst reflecting that as the number one beach in the UK and top 20 worldwide, we are going to be busy on weekends like this. It is unfortunate that some people chose to ignore the rules and I would like to assure residents that we prioritise key areas to ensure main routes remain accessible. Credit goes to the officers across the council and our wonderful partners, the police, fire and other authorities who have been on alert and taking action throughout the whole weekend.

“Looking forward, we’ve a lot to be positive about. The Festival Coast Live! kicks off this summer with more than 200 events across our three towns and it culminates in the Air Festival in September – the biggest one we’ll have laid on. It positions us as a fabulous resort in the UK with beaches we’re proud of and hospitality second to none.”