Save SOBO Beach campaign statement · 13 October 2026
20 years of Southbourne’s future.Where was the public’s voice?
Over the past four years, SOBO Beach has become part of Southbourne’s daily life: coffee after sea swims, families gathering by the water, veterans, SEND families and mental-health groups finding friendship and support, and local charities raising funds.
Its contribution has been recognised nationally. In August, The Times wrote:
“But what really elevates Southbourne is Sobo Beach.”
When BCP Council recommended a different operator, the public reaction was understandable.
At the time of writing, more than 9,500 people have signed our petition, calling for the decision to be paused and for meaningful public and stakeholder consultation. Thousands have shared personal accounts of what SOBO means to them.
We recognise that a popular incumbent is not automatically entitled to win a new lease and that BCP must treat bidders fairly and secure appropriate commercial value.
But residents deserve to understand how this outcome was reached and whether the established value of this community venue was fairly recognised.
BCP describes the tender as open and transparent, yet it has not publicly demonstrated how the community shaped its requirements, how competing proposals were assessed or what determined the recommendation.
A competition can be fair to bidders without demonstrating fairness to the public.
We are not alleging proven unlawful procurement or asking for preferential treatment.
Today councillors are being asked to approve a 20-year lease for the Southbourne Promenade premises currently home to SOBO Beach.
We are asking them not to approve the proposed lease or associated delegations and to refer the decision back for a focused, time-limited assurance report.
Public consultation and stakeholder engagement
BCP Council’s July 2024 Seafront Strategy report stated:
“Individual projects will be subject to further engagement exercises as they come forward.”
In May 2024, the Council’s Audit and Governance Committee heard that the revised Seafront Strategy would take a broader approach, balancing commercial opportunities with the wider needs of coastal communities.
In July, its Overview and Scrutiny Board acknowledged shortcomings in consulting residents and beach users, while recognising SOBO Beach’s popularity.
BCP’s Research and Consultation Framework and Procurement and Contract Management Strategy 2024–2028 also establish expectations for stakeholder involvement. Its February 2026 scrutiny again called for more meaningful consultation.
Yet BCP has not publicly demonstrated what Southbourne-specific public engagement informed the site’s future purpose, operating model or tender requirements.
Who decided what this public coastal site needed, and what opportunity did the community have to influence that decision?
Financial responsibility and long-term sustainability
BCP has legitimate responsibilities to protect public finances, secure commercial returns and encourage investment. But the highest financial offer does not necessarily represent the most sustainable outcome over 20 years.
The tender allocated 50% to income and capital investment, and 50% to quality and presentation. The Council’s recommendation highlights the preferred operator’s financial offer, alongside its financial standing, experience and proposed improvements to the visitor experience.
How did the quality and presentation scores influence the final recommendation?
SOBO Beach has more than four years of actual year-round trading experience at this site, including the challenging winter months. This provides an important benchmark for assessing future financial projections, while allowing for the potential impact of new investment.
BCP’s own tender recognises the risks of seasonal trading and provides for scrutiny of unusually ambitious financial offers.
Were the preferred operator’s financial projections tested against the site’s actual trading history, where available? Where higher performance was forecast, what evidence and assumptions justified it?
BCP’s Financial Regulation 25 establishes requirements for financial appraisal and risk assessment.
What documented appraisal, funding verification and downside testing demonstrate that the proposed rent, investment and operating commitments are sustainable through winter trading, rising costs and adverse conditions over the full 20-year lease?
Councillors should be satisfied that the financial commitments underpinning the recommendation have been properly verified and can realistically be delivered.
Continuity, public access and equality
SOBO Beach’s existing lease expires on 31 October 2026.
BCP envisages arrangements for a successor from 1 December, but this is not a confirmed public reopening date. Planning, licensing and construction could cause significant disruption.
What will be available from 1 November, and how will public toilets, accessible facilities and established community activities be protected?
BCP’s Financial Regulations address business continuity and orderly transitions. The Council must also have due regard to relevant equality impacts under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, including impacts on disabled people.
BCP has not demonstrated that national legislation prevents temporary continuation of SOBO Beach.
Councillors should be shown which lawful options, including a short-term lease or licence, have been considered and the specific legal reasons, if any, for rejecting them.
They should also receive a documented, funded continuity plan protecting public facilities and established community activities.
Our proposed way forward
BCP has already committed to public engagement, community value, financial sustainability and responsible coastal development.
On 13 July 2026, BCP’s Overview and Scrutiny Board unanimously agreed that the Council’s management of seafront businesses and concessions should be formally reviewed, and added this review to its future work programme.
Before committing Southbourne for 20 years, councillors should be able to see how its own prior commitments informed the tender, how competing bids were assessed and how the final recommendation was verified.
We are not asking BCP to write another Seafront Strategy. We are asking it to honour the commitments it has already made and show how they have been applied to this tender process.
What we are asking for
Our five demands
Withhold approval and refer the decision back.
Do not approve the proposed lease or associated delegations on 13 October. Seek a lawful referral or deferral pending a focused, time-limited assurance report covering public engagement, tender design and evaluation, social and environmental value, financial assurance, equality, continuity and legal options.
Independently review the tender and implementation of Council commitments.
Examine how BCP’s strategies, regulations and scrutiny recommendations shaped the tender; how bids were assessed and moderated; what determined the result; and how the evaluation and financial checks were verified. Publish findings wherever possible, report recommendations and a timetable to Full Council, and allow councillors access to confidential evidence through appropriate procedures.
Consult the community before setting new requirements.
Give residents, beach users, community organisations, local businesses and relevant stakeholders a meaningful opportunity to shape the site’s future purpose and operating requirements.
Pursue lawful discontinuation and a renewed, fair tender process.
Subject to the assurance findings and legal advice, our proposed longer-term resolution is lawful discontinuation and a redesigned competition with transparent, proportionate criteria reflecting community, social, environmental and economic value, financial sustainability and enforceable public benefits, while respecting bidders’ rights.
Protect continuity during the process.
Urgently pursue lawful temporary continuation of SOBO Beach, potentially until its existing temporary planning permission expires in October 2027. If this is not possible, establish a funded interim plan to protect public toilets, accessible facilities and established community activities until replacement provision is operational.
These are our proposed outcomes. Each legal and commercial decision must follow the proper process.
Our purpose
BCP should not commit Southbourne to a 20-year lease before demonstrating how its existing public-interest commitments were implemented and how the final recommendation was reached.
Our immediate request reflects the petition signed by more than 9,500 people. The further demands are the campaign’s proposed resolution.
We want a coastline that supports thriving businesses, responsible investment, environmental stewardship and strong communities.
We are not asking for a predetermined winner. We are asking for a process designed around the long-term interests of the people this coastline serves.
A fair process cannot simply be asserted, it should be openly and transparently demonstrated.
Save SOBO Beach
Sign the petitionPress and media enquiries: hello@savesobo.com · Contact form
Social, community and environmental value
On 24 March 2026, BCP unanimously adopted updated Financial Regulations, effective from 1 April. Regulation 21(b) establishes a conditional minimum 10% allocation for relevant economic, social and environmental considerations.
The National Procurement Policy Statement recognises public benefit and community involvement, while the Government’s separate Social Value Model establishes a 10% minimum for qualifying central-government contracts.
On 18 May 2026, Council scrutiny questioned whether monetised assessments adequately capture wider community and long-term benefits.
Yet Southbourne allocated 50% of its evaluation to income and capital investment, compared with just 2% to its dedicated social and community benefits criterion.
Why was established community value given such limited dedicated weighting in a 20-year tender for a public coastal site?
How were existing community activities assessed alongside future promises, and how will those commitments be measured and enforced?
BCP should demonstrate how its own applicable social-value requirements were satisfied and why this balance was chosen.