Locals have reacted with fury after an illegal encampment sprung up at a coastal beauty spot – within walking distance of a migrant hotel.
The makeshift settlement in a clearing halfway up Bournemouth’s East Cliff – which contains a tent, a picnic table, and a parasol – is situated just above a line of beach huts, which cost £2,000 a year to rent.
The appearance of this eyesore has caused residents to criticize the use of taxpayer money to accommodate 100 asylum seekers at a nearby Britannia migrant hotel while homeless individuals experience hard times.
The decision to transform three of the town’s hotels into asylum seeker accommodations has heightened unease, with frequent protests occurring outside them over the summer.
This new encampment is the second instance this year where the clearing on East Cliff has been utilized as a temporary camp, causing beach hut tenants to complain about an unsightly mess that attracted rats.
Bournemouth council has vowed to clear the site and refer the occupants to homelessness charity St Mungo’s if necessary.
The encampment (pictured, centre) above four beach huts has triggered complaints from local residents
It is in a prime location directly above a row of sought-after beach huts which tenants pay £2,000 a year to rent
Stuart Henderson, 52, who owns a beach hut close to the new encampment, expressed, “We pay a lot of money for the beach hut, but it is becoming very unpleasant.
“I should be able to sit outside my beach hut without having to face an eyesore. Visitors coming out of hotels will take one look and decide they won’t return here again.”
‘Whoever is in there has fallen on hard times and is homeless. Yet we can afford to spend a fortune putting people up in a hotel just a few yards away for free but we can’t sort out the homeless problem.’
The Britannia migrant hotel was a focus of protests over the summer, with residents gathering outside holding signs reading ‘illegal criminals out’ and ‘stop the boats’.
The nearby Chine Hotel was also targeted in July.
Dozens of criminal charges have been brought against residents at the town’s three migrant hotels, it emerged in August.
A total of 91 charges were brought against people staying at the Britannia and Roundhouse, and another 25 against those at the Chine Hotel.
Anyone charged with a criminal offence may subsequently have the charges dropped or be cleared in court.
Other recent instances, not linked to migrants, have seen youngsters plaguing the picturesque resort with the stench of marijuana and inhaling nitrous oxide ‘hippy crack’ balloons in front of families.
Bournemouth local Adam Elcock complained last month that the town was becoming like ‘the Wild West’.
More than 200 volunteers have now joined the Bournemouth Safeguard Force, which carries out patrols around the town.
The group, set up by local businessman Gary Bartlett, aims to ‘protect the most vulnerable in our town – especially women, children and the elderly’.
They have already raised more than £3,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to buy body cameras, stab vests and radios.
Mr Bartlett said: ‘We’re here to support our community and work alongside the police to make Dorset a safer place for everyone.
He declined to explain if volunteers would physically intervene if they saw criminal acts.
Stuart Henderson, 52, who has a beach hut within yards of the new encampment, said: ‘We pay a lot of money for the beach hut but it is getting very unsavoury down there’
The camp in the same location in December 2024. BCP Council eventually cleared the site after several weeks
More than 200 volunteers have now joined the Bournemouth Safeguard Force, which carries out patrols around the town
The Safeguard Force has vowed to work alongside Dorset Police to make the streets safer.
But they have yet to be endorsed by the force and anti-racism campaigners claim they will target asylum seekers staying in the town’s three migrant hotels.
The group says it will require all volunteers to undergo DBS checks and first aid training, claiming the group will be ‘non-political and inclusive’.
In addition to patrols, the group is developing a mobile ‘Safeguard App’, an SOS-style tool to allow people to quickly request help if they feel vulnerable in public.
Volunteers will wear a black uniform with a ‘Safeguard Force’ badge on the front and Safeguard Force written in white, block capitals on the back.
Around the town there is plenty of evidence of a lack of investment and civic pride.
Graffiti can be seen covering walls, benches and tourist information signs while the once immaculate pleasure gardens are now tatty and unkempt.
There is also plenty of evidence of recreational drug taking by brazen users in the open.
Drug deals can often be seen taking place in the gardens while the smell of cannabis regularly wafts along the promenade by the beach.
Residents previously gathered outside the Britannia Hotel with St George’s flags and signs reading ‘Illegal criminals out’ and ‘stop the boats’
A wave of discontent swept across Britain over the taxpayer-funded hotels, facilitated by the Home Office, this summer
Deputy mayor Anne Filer pointed to broken park benches, smashed glass, graffiti, overgrown bushes and the ever-present smell of cannabis in the air for making the once proud Victorian resort look more like ‘a tip’.
Mrs Filer, who became a councillor in 1999 and has twice been mayor of Bournemouth, recently told the Daily Mail: ‘All I want is for the town to look clean and tidy again for both the locals and all the tourists who come here.
‘So many of the fences along the cliff are broken, there is graffiti everywhere, plants and bushes are overgrown, verges need trimming back.
‘We have to acknowledge that people like coming here but it looks like a tip.
‘There has been so much deterioration since lockdown as everyone’s way of life changed.’
Richard Herrett, BCP Council’s portfolio holder for destination, leisure and commercial operations, said the camp will be cleared ‘soon’ and they were working to provide the occupants with shelter.
He said: ‘We are aware of the unauthorised encampment on the cliff face at East Cliff and are actively engaging with the occupants through our multi-agency approach.
‘They will be supported by St. Mungo’s outreach and our housing teams if necessary.
‘Access to this site is challenging due to the location, but the camp will be cleared as soon as it is possible and safe to do so.’
