Council apologise after artwork installed near to Bournemouth drowning victims
BCP Council say work is underway to take it down
Last updated 29th Sep 2023
A council in Dorset has apologised for a "crass mistake" after putting up a sculpture near to where two children drowned earlier this year.
A 15m (49ft), rectangular installation called "Portal" was set up on Bournemouth beach on Wednesday as part of the town's Arts by the Sea Festival.
However, this led to complaints by the families of those who drowned, who said it was "disrespectful".
Back in May, Sunnah Khan, 12, from Buckinghamshire and Joe Abbess, 17, from Southampton died after being pulled from the sea off Bournemouth Pier.
In a statement, Vanessa Abbess, Joe's mother, said: "As a family, we were shocked and astounded to see news reports of the disrespectful 'Arts by the Sea' installation at the Bournemouth beach yesterday.
"The 'Portal of Hope' was badly located and thoughtless, as it frames the area of sea where our son Joe and Sunnah Khan got into difficulties.
"In addition, it is sited on the area of beach where emergency services cared for all casualties on May 31 and the tragic circumstances unfolded. This is not a suitable area to celebrate the sea or to place a tourist attraction.
"We emailed BCP Council, as owners of the beach, to express our distress and upset yesterday evening. We fully appreciate that this project may have been planned for many months, but due to the tragic circumstances and ongoing inquest, we feel this (is) entirely unsuitable and plans could have been easily adjusted in the last 17 weeks.
"Last night, Graham Farrant (council chief executive) confirmed the installation would be immediately shut down/relocated. We are grateful that BCP Council have acted so quickly, but feel with a little consideration and respect to Joe, Sunnah and both families, this could have been avoided."
BCP Council said work is now underway to take it down.
Graham Farrant, Chief Executive of BCP Council, said “We are deeply sorry for such a crass mistake which clearly should never have happened.
“We have extended an unreserved apology to the families for causing further upset at what is undoubtedly already a distressing time.
“Work is underway to close down the installation and we will review our internal processes to understand how this happened and what changes need to be made to avoid this from happening again.”
An inquest has been opened into the deaths of the two youngsters and is expected to be held in full in September 2024.