Southbourne · An independent community campaign
SaveSOBO Beach.
Over 10,000 of us spoke.BCP listened.Your voice HAS been heard.
0
people have emailed
their councillors
The tide is turning. SOBO Beach stays until September 2027.
Thank you to everyone who signed, shared and stood with us. Now we need one more thing: email your local councillors and ask them to make sure the independent review comes before any twenty-year agreement is signed.
Petition closed
Thank you. Your voice HAS been heard.
Final signature count
10,823
people signed the Save SOBO Beach petition
Emails to councillors · live
0
people have emailed their councillors →
Now ask your councillors to make sure the independent review comes before any twenty-year agreement is signed.
✉️ Email your councillors
What’s at stake
If the twenty-year agreement is signed, we lose SOBO Beach for good.
Come October 2027, there will be no SOBO Beach.
Act now. Send & share.
In your words
What SOBO means to us.
A few of the 6,198 messages left by people who signed.
Read all comments →“This place has meant so much over the years, getting together with friends and family and the kids just love it. It’s so homely and would be a great shame to loose it.”
A supporter in Southbourne
“We take our kids there regularly, also love the early morning breakfast club where we can dance together as a family. And the sunset silent discos are second to none. It is a vital part of our community”
Issabella, Southbourne
“I swim here year round and always feel welcome at SOBO, I spent 2 maternity years walking to SOBO a few times a week for community and sanity, and now my children play there.”
Olivia, Boscombe
“It’s a community where so many different events take place. It’s a place for connection and belonging. I meet friends there to watch sunsets, swim , drink coffee and eat pastries,”
Catharine, Poole
“SOBO is a welcoming community where we all gathered together. Always friendly environment that makes me feel safe and involved. We need places as welcoming and with such a positive vibe as SOBO.”
Nori, Bournemouth
“We love Sobo Beach for getting friends and family together at this unique spot. Our son who is a teen often uses it as a central case to meet friends and we feel like it’s a safe place all year round.”
Jo, Christchurch
“I live in Southbourne and its a lovely community meet up point and safe and friendly, you can not say that for the most part of Bournemouth.”
Heidi, Southbourne
“I love the community feel and the casual atmosphere! Me and my friends go there each week to dip in the sea and gather and have a coffee etc.”
Rachel
“We love going for a swim with the kids and having a drink and food afterwards. Always such an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere. Would be such a shame to get rid of something that works so well for the community”
Chris, Southbourne
“An incredible place to socialise, meet new people, gather friends and family. I have some incredible memories with the people I love there”
Molly, Southbourne
“this place reminds me of back home which is very special to me, it makes me feel at peace and i’ve created beautiful memories here.”
A supporter in the UK
“I love the community spirit it engenders and the unique welcome it provides. In a modern world it is a place of welcome and friendship, to rare these days.”
Geoff, Bath & Somerset
“I swim, drink coffee, walk my dog, take friends and family. Being new to the area its helped me find my community here”
Jade, Christchurch
“Came every Sunday when our children were small from Andover was a lovely beach holds a lot of memories to our family.”
Kay, Salisbury
“I take the kids to meet friends , have something to eat and listen to music , it’s a special place for the community”
A supporter in Bournemouth
“We visit most weekends with our children and it’s always been a place to socialise with friends. Sobo beach has become a big part of life for my family and friends.”
Barbie, Bournemouth
“A warm and welcoming community hub that will be just awful to loose. Means so much to me, my family and my friends”
A supporter in Christchurch
“I love going on walks here and meeting friends and family. It’s my home town and it would be sad to see it go.”
Bethany, Bournemouth
“My children and I visit a lot, we do children’s courses, swim, go to local exercise classes, bring our friends and family. A period of no service would be such a huge loss.”
A supporter in Southbourne
“It does so much for the community and is a great place to meet family and friends when we visit. We love it!”
A supporter in the UK
“It is a little bit of holiday in our home town. The friendly vibe, great music and community activities that bring all generations together, it will be such a shame to see it close 😔”
Jackie, Bournemouth
“I grew up in Southbourne and have loved to see the sense of community build over the years. This venue has a positive impact on the area and has a great reputation even beyond Bournemouth.”
A supporter in the UK
“I swim every day and go for a coffee, we meet there on Christmas Eve with our friends and family, we frequently take guests and visitors there. It is part of our community and weekly routine.”
A supporter in Southbourne
“It's such a fantastic, family-friendly venue. I go often with my daughter, get a coffee and some marshmallows. Lovely, relaxed vibe. I'd say it's become a pretty important part of the local community.”
Jack, Ferndown
“I love the Sunday sessions the community vibe and I’m a regular sea swimmer!”
Sarah, Wimborne
“Sobo beach is my happy place. It gives a sense of community and friendliness. It’s a safe place for all and also the food and drink is fabulous. I couldn’t imagine sobo without it. It wouldn’t be the same.”
A supporter in Christchurch
“Because I have many treasured memories there with family and friends.”
Hayley, Bournemouth
“I have made so many friends at SOBO. The venue matters because it really is a community hub at which all are welcome. Its used by many following a swim or a run or just for a coffee with a good vibe all year round.”
Lee, Bournemouth
“This is my community space. Bournemouth town centre has nothing like this and so please don’t make the same mistake that the councillors have made in the town centre. Sobo is an active safe place to meet friends and family”
Emmamcbride, Southbourne
“It provides a homegrown local community hub that offers a home to numerous different groups. We need more of these, not fewer. It’s one of the few genuinely community friendly purposes to which our wonderful seafront is put”
A supporter in Christchurch
“So many fond memories here, every time family come to visit we go here, I had my first date with my now husband here, my kids ask to go to Sobo at least once a week. It's a critical community space that needs to be protected”
A supporter in Ringwood
“SOBO is a huge part of our community. We love to visit for a drink & the food is AMAZING. Friends & family visiting the area also love it. There is nowhere else to go on that part of the beach so would be really sad if it went.”
Kim, Bournemouth
“It’s a community where everybody is welcome, Dog walkers, swimmers, kids, Seniors, dancers, yogis.There’s nowhere else like it in BCP.”
Paula, Bournemouth
“Perfect coffee spot post swim or beach walk! Lovely for night out drinks with the sunset too - dog friendly and outdoors! Perfect for the local area”
A supporter
“It is such a lovely area where family and friends can meet by the sea in a gorgeous location and have some well deserved down time.”
Ceri, Wimborne
“A lovely area to visit with family and friends, fabulous community atmosphere and great meeting point with a beach vibe.”
Sandra, New Milton
Pinned
All campaign news →
📌 Pinned
Official press release · 2 November 2026
Campaign calls for councillor rebellion after emergency Council meeting refused
We’re urging BCP councillors to use their statutory powers to convene an Extraordinary Full Council meeting over the controversial 20-year lease, after the Chair refused five councillors’ request.
Read more →Takes two minutes
Take actionfor SOBO Beach.
Email your councillors. Pause the agreement. Complete the review.
Fifteen questions about the twenty-year decision remain unanswered. Enter your postcode and we’ll write a letter to your ward councillors for you to send from your own email.
✉️ Email your councillors0
people have emailed
their councillors
Our position · 13 October 2026
Fair to bidders. Fair to the public?
We’re not alleging unlawful procurement or asking for preferential treatment. We’re asking councillors to pause the 20-year lease and refer it back until BCP shows how the community, social value, financial checks and continuity were properly considered.
- Public consultation
- Community value: 2% vs 50%
- Financial sustainability
- Continuity from 1 November
The beach · The people
Why SOBO Beachmatters.
SOBO Beach has become much more than a beach venue. It is a community space on the Southbourne seafront: a place for swimmers, families, community groups, wellbeing, charity fundraising and people who simply need somewhere to connect.
Not a venue that comes alive for the summer and shuts for the winter, but a place people return to day in, day out, all year round.
Meet the community →
Based on SOBO Beach’s public statement [10]
The situationas it stands.
Following the BCP Cabinet meeting, SOBO Beach says it has been inundated with queries and concerns about its future. In response, SOBO Beach set out to clear up some rumours, give the facts as stated by the council, and share its concerns and what you can do if you are concerned too.
The facts, as set out by SOBO Beach:
BCP have run a tender process for the future 20 year operation of the site.
This process was supposed to be completed by 31 July 2026.
Delays have meant the process still isn’t concluded, with approval required from full council before the decision is formally announced.
As is now public knowledge, SOBO Beach is not the preferred bidder. The reasons given in the BCP Cabinet report included ‘highest guaranteed and projected rental income, strong covenant strength, significant hospitality experience, established local presence’.
SOBO Beach’s public statement [10]
Why SOBO Beachis concerned.
SOBO Beach’s immediate concern is that, because the process is running late, any new operator is unlikely to be in a position to open a new beachside venue for some time.
SOBO Beach’s lease expires on
31 October
2026
31 July 2026
The date the tender process was supposed to be completed.
13 October
Councillors vote at a meeting about the future of the site.
31 October 2026
SOBO Beach’s lease expires.
1 December
The new tenant will have access to the site but does not have any planning permission in place to develop.
Planning permission
15
months
When SOBO Beach applied for planning permission, it took 15 months to secure it.
Key arguments · in the Council’s own words
The case fora pause.
Every quote below comes from BCP Council’s own published documents, linked so you can check them. Together they raise a simple question: how can a long-term decision about a community space be taken without asking the community?
30 Sept 2026 · Cabinet report on the lease
The decision report contains no public consultation
“Following detailed assessment of the financial, operational and strategic merits of each submission…”[1]
The report recommending the new lease scores rental return, financial standing and investment. It has no section on public consultation or engagement, and does not mention the community or social value. It records “no direct public health implications” and “no direct equality implications”.
16 July 2024 · Overview & Scrutiny Board
BCP has acknowledged it hasn’t consulted beach users enough
“It was acknowledged that the Council didn’t have the balance right before in ensuring that residents and beach users were consulted on these issues.”[3]
The same minutes note that SOBO Beach’s “temporary offering in place had proved incredibly popular”.
2024 · BCP Seafront Strategy
BCP’s own strategy promised engagement for this site
“Individual projects will be subject to further engagement exercises as they come forward.”[4]
The strategy lists “Southbourne redevelopment (Former Bistro on the Beach)” as an investment priority, to be delivered by “engaging with local residents & visitors, and the potential operator market”.
18 May 2026 · Overview & Scrutiny Board
Councillors warned the numbers miss community value
“…monetised outcomes, which may not fully capture wider social, environmental, and community benefits…”[5]
Board members raised this concern about the national approach to social value in council procurement. At the same meeting, members discussed the risk of “consultation outcomes being perceived as predetermined”.
The community
More thana beach venue.
Since SOBO Beach opened, a community has grown around it. It isn’t like other beach venues that attract tourists in summer and close for the winter.
Numerous groups of swimmers use the sea there day in, day out, all year round.
Community groups use SOBO Beach too, including Veterans Support Groups, SEND parents groups, Men’s Mental Health groups, Mum’s support groups, and many more.
YEAR-ROUND SWIMMERS
Groups of swimmers use the sea day in day out, all year round.
COMMUNITY GROUPS
Veterans Support Groups, SEND parents groups, Men’s Mental Health groups, Mum’s support groups, and many more.
CHARITY FUNDRAISING
Winter is when SOBO Beach does much of its fundraising, supporting Sleep Out to Help Out, the Southbourne Foodbank, the Southbourne Surf Lifesaving Club, Dorset Mind and others.
WELLBEING & CONNECTION
A respite from the world, or a connection to others. Peace, if only for a short time at the beach.
SOBO Beach also has many customers who visit throughout the winter as a respite from the world, or a connection to others. Individuals who can escape their problems and find peace if only for a short time at the beach.
“We don’t use the word community lightly. We use it because it really matters and is a huge part of what makes SOBO Beach special. It is you the people that have shaped the way we have grown.” SOBO Beach, public statement [10]
Why this matters
Some places are replaceable.Can you replace a community?
A new operator may run a café. But the swimmers, families, support groups, charity fundraisers and friendships that have grown up around SOBO Beach can’t simply be switched back on. There is no guarantee the community will stay.
The people who make it welcoming
The community is standing with the team that built the atmosphere and the everyday relationships.
A year-round venue
Swimmers, families and community groups use SOBO Beach all year round, not just in summer.
A community worth safeguarding
The potential disruption to the local community deserves serious scrutiny before a 20-year decision.
Putting Southbourne on the map
SOBO is part of what makesSouthbourne,Southbourne.
National travel and lifestyle coverage describes SOBO Beach as part of Southbourne’s appeal.
“But what really elevates Southbourne is Sobo Beach”[6]
2024 · National travel
A sought-after beach venue
The Times recommended SOBO Beach to visitors in its guide to UK beaches you can reach by train.[7]
Read the coverage ↗ (opens in a new tab)2025 · Beach culture
A recognised community hub
The Times featured SOBO Beach among seven of the UK’s best beach bars.[8]
Read the coverage ↗ (opens in a new tab)2025 · Local desirability
Southbourne on the map
The Sunday Times named Southbourne among its best places to live.[9]
Read the coverage ↗ (opens in a new tab)
SOBO Beach’s view, as stated publicly [10]
A differentway forward.
The council has a rare opportunity to prevent a mistake before it happens.
They could easily issue SOBO Beach with a rolling lease to stay operating, whilst the council carries out a new tender in a better timescale to allow any operator to get planning permission in place to start development, without shutting the site indefinitely.
If the site closes before planning is in place then it is a mistake that could have been avoided.
The campaign’s position
Your councillor has the opportunity to vote to prevent this on 13th October.
Take action →What can you do?
What the campaignis asking for.
This petition asks BCP councillors to take these steps at the Council meeting on 13 October, before granting any long-term lease. Your signature, your shares and your emails are what give councillors a reason to act.
What your signature asks for
We call on BCP Council to defer its decision on the Southbourne Promenade lease (Council, 13 October 2026, Item 15) until the public and the community groups who use SOBO Beach have been consulted, the Council has explained how community and social value was assessed, and options to keep the site open, including extending the current lease, have been properly examined.
Defer the decision
Don’t approve the Southbourne Promenade lease on 13 October. Pause it for a defined period while the steps below happen.
Consult the community
Ask the public and the groups who use SOBO Beach, as BCP’s own Seafront Strategy says it would for projects like this.
Make it transparent
Publish how the bids were scored, and how community and social value was weighed against financial return.
Keep the site open
Extend SOBO Beach’s current lease so the site isn’t left closed while any new operator secures planning permission.
Sign · Share · Write to your councillors
Step three · Councillor contact
Make yourvoice heard.
Councillors are the ones who vote. Tell them what SOBO Beach means to you.
Write to your councillors in one click
Add your name and address and we’ll fill in our campaign letter for you, addressed to both councillors. Replace [Surname] with your councillor’s name, then read and edit it in your email app before sending. Nothing is sent from this website.
Tip: “Copy the letter” keeps the bold text when you paste it into your email. The email buttons open a plain-text draft.
Preview the letter
Dear Councillor [Surname],
I am writing about the proposed 20-year lease for Southbourne Promenade, currently home to SOBO Beach, which was considered at the Full Council meeting on 13 October.
Over 10,000 people have signed the Save SOBO Beach petition, reflecting the importance of this much-loved community venue.
I recognise that the Council must treat all bidders fairly and secure appropriate commercial returns.
But a tender process can be fair to bidders without demonstrating fairness to the public.
BCP's own 2024 Seafront Strategy promised:
"Individual projects will be subject to further engagement exercises as they come forward."
Yet the Council has not publicly demonstrated how the Southbourne community was involved in shaping what the tender was designed to deliver.
Even more concerning, BCP's Financial Regulations, effective from April 2026, establish a conditional minimum 10% allocation for relevant economic, social and environmental considerations.
Yet the Southbourne tender allocated 50% to income and capital investment, compared with just 2% to its dedicated social and community benefits criterion.
How that requirement was satisfied, and why this balance was chosen, deserves a clear explanation.
Whatever the outcome of the meeting, these questions still need answers. I ask you to seek and publish clear answers to the following:
1. Consultation: What meaningful engagement with residents and beach users informed the tender before it was launched?
2. Community value: How did BCP apply its own social-value requirements, and why was dedicated community benefit given just 2%?
3. Evaluation and financial assurance: How did the quality assessment influence the outcome, and were the financial projections and investment commitments properly verified against realistic year-round trading conditions?
4. Continuity: How will public toilets, accessible facilities and established community activities be protected after 31 October, and what lawful temporary arrangements have been considered?
I respectfully ask you to ensure these questions are answered publicly before any lease is completed or further delegated decisions are taken.
Please also support focused, independent scrutiny of how the Council's existing commitments were implemented, including through the Overview and Scrutiny Board's planned review of seafront commercial operations.
I am not alleging legal wrongdoing or asking for preferential treatment for any operator.
I am asking BCP to honour its own Seafront Strategy commitments and demonstrate that this 20-year decision serves the long term public interest.
I would be grateful for a reply setting out your position.
Please read the full campaign statement at:
https://savesobo.com/statement
Yours sincerely,
[Your full name]
[Your full address]
Points SOBO Beach suggests raising [10]
From SOBO Beach’s public statement. They are SOBO Beach’s views; please write in your own words about what matters to you.
The timing
The timing of the process has been flawed and should be paused so it can be run properly.
Planning permission
The site should not be closed until planning permission has been achieved.
Transparency
Councillors should have the opportunity to review the process so they can assure the public that it has been run correctly.
Public concern
Only enough public concern will give the councillors a reason to query the process and ensure that it doesn’t lead to the prolonged closure of the site.
Millie Earl
Millie.Earl@bcpcouncil.gov.ukRichard Herrett
richard.herrett@bcpcouncil.gov.ukDownload a Template Email
A ready-to-edit letter you can adapt and send to your councillor.
Download email templateOutside of BCP? You can still show your concern.
Email the leader of BCP & explain why SOBO Beach matters to you, even though you travel to visit it.
Your beach · your stories
What people are sayingabout SOBO Beach.
Real words from people who use SOBO Beach, shared with the campaign. Including one who moved to Southbourne because of it.
Live from supporters
Supportercomments.
“Such an important meeting place, providing social wellbeing, beautiful environment.”
Gary, Bournemouth · 13 Oct
“Its centre to our community”
Paul, Westbourne · 13 Oct
“Sobo beach is a social hub”
A supporter in Christchurch · 13 Oct
“Great place for the community”
Liz, Southbourne · 13 Oct
“We live some distance in Hamworthy but I’d say it was our favourite coffee shop & place to visit in BCP seafront. So please BCP Council, listen to the voters/council taxpayers”
Simon, Poole · 13 Oct
“Cause it's a place that I go with my family when we walk the dogs. It great atmosphere great people and wouldn't want to see it go.”
Mr, Berkshire · 13 Oct
Petition closed · thank you
Thank you,Southbourne.
Your voice has been heard. An official update and statement will follow soon.
What your signature asks for
We call on BCP Council to defer its decision on the Southbourne Promenade lease (Council, 13 October 2026, Item 15) until the public and the community groups who use SOBO Beach have been consulted, the Council has explained how community and social value was assessed, and options to keep the site open, including extending the current lease, have been properly examined.
10,823 people have signed
Petition closed
Thank you. Your voice HAS been heard.
Final signature count
10,823
people signed the Save SOBO Beach petition
Emails to councillors · live
0
people have emailed their councillors →
Now ask your councillors to make sure the independent review comes before any twenty-year agreement is signed.
✉️ Email your councillorsShare Save SOBO Beach
References
Sources
Quotes are reproduced exactly from the documents below. Numbers in square brackets on this page link here.
- [1]BCP Council – Cabinet report, “Lease of premises – Southbourne Promenade”, 30 September 2026 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- [2]BCP Council – Council meeting 13 October 2026, Item 15: Lease of premises – Southbourne Promenade ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- [3]BCP Council – Overview and Scrutiny Board minutes, 16 July 2024, Item 21: Revised BCP Seafront Strategy ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- [4]BCP Council – Cabinet report, Revised BCP Seafront Strategy (Cabinet 17 July 2024) ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- [5]BCP Council – Overview and Scrutiny Board minutes, 18 May 2026 (Items 8 and 11) ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- [6]The Times – “The 25 best places to live by the sea”, 1 August 2026 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- [7]The Times – “10 of the UK’s best beaches that you can reach by train” (2024) ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- [8]The Times – “Seven of the UK’s best beach bars” (2025) ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- [9]The Sunday Times – Best Places to Live: Southbourne, Dorset area guide (2025) ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- [10]SOBO Beach – public statement on the future of the site, published on sobobeach.co.uk (October 2026) ↗ (opens in a new tab)