More than 400k weekend visitors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Council bosses have hailed the 'exceptional' numbers
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole has welcomed more than 400,000 visitors over what was the hottest weekend of 2021 so far.
A dedicated multi-agency summer response plan put in place by BCP Council to welcome people back safely remains in place as temperatures continue to soar.
Across Saturday and Sunday, 89 tonnes of waste was collected from the more than 650 extra bins put in place, while additional cleansing was put in place in toilets.
More than 40 missing children were reunited with families and guardians, and a 24 hour beach patrol took action against those illegally camping with nine tents removed
As local roads became congested the council and police put in place temporary road closures at Boscombe and Sandbanks to alleviate queuing traffic.
Additional enforcement officers issued more than 810 parking tickets to those who parked irresponsibly with a priority on on-street seafront areas, where a high level of vehicles had parked in contravention causing issues for moving traffic and emergency vehicles.
Council owned seafront catering kiosks experienced their busiest ever day trading Saturday, exceeding even that of Air Festival weekends.
Councillor Drew Mellor, Leader of BCP Council, said
“We have just experienced the hottest weekend so far this year and 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."