Lake Pier, Hamworthy Launch Site improvements
Last updated 05 December 2023
A joint project between BARI (The Bird and Recreation Initiative), and BCP Council’s Greenspace Development Team and Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management Team
The Project
Works to Lake Pier Launch Site are well underway!
A path has been constructed for easier access to the waterside and a welcome area created with artwork and Purbeck stone seats to meet, stop, rest and enjoy the beautiful views across Poole Harbour.
Large signs have been removed and relocated where they are less intrusive. A new interpretation board gives fascinating facts about this special harbour landscape and the rare and wonderful wildlife that can be found here. Visitors can also read the The Paddlers Map on how to keep safe when out and about whilst protecting the environment.
New amenities such as cycle stands and bins have been provided. Further work to the surfacing and line marking to clarify parking arrangements outside the boat house will follow soon.
Poole Harbour – Did you know?
Poole Harbour is an internationally important site for over-wintering wildfowl and wading birds and designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA).
The Nature Reserve of RSPB Arne lies just across the water opposite Lake Pier.
The mudflats, sandflats, saltmarsh, reedbeds and shallow inshore water areas within the SPA all provide essential key feeding and roosting habitats for the birds.
These areas are relatively isolated and enclosed and can easily be disturbed and damaged by recreational water-based activities, such as launching and landing canoes. This in turn has a detrimental effect on the bird populations who rely on these habitats.
BBC Countryfile visited Lake Pier beach in November; Anita Rani met with Ria Loveridge from BARI to discover how we are working to reduce the impact of water sports and walkers on the bird population. Anita also met with a local water sports group to tries paddleboarding for the first time.
- The full BCC Countryfile programme filmed across Poole Harbour was shown on 03 December and is currently available on iPlayer at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001t480
- The BARI Poole Harbour Paddle Power map is available to view and download below
The Works
To help protect over-wintering birds from recreational disturbance, works include:
- Enhancing and promoting Lake Pier as a key launch site. By upgrading the existing path to allow easier launching of vessels and wider public access onto the foreshore, this facility will divert use and reduce pressure on other more sensitive, unofficially used areas, such as Holes Bay and Lytchett Bay.
- Providing interpretation to raise awareness of this unique and internationally important landscape.
- Displaying information which will encourage wildlife friendly recreation, such as BARI’s Poole Harbour Paddle Power Map (pdf)
- A new welcome area to enhance the existing facilities. Designed using local materials and sculptural elements, we hope to make this place special and provide a stronger sense of character. Seating will allow people to stay longer in the area, appreciate the views, and take the opportunity to read the information provided. Additional improvements include new cycle parking and bins.
Site before works
Local stone, Suppliers and Reclaimed timbers
Artwork and path edgings will re-use timber from old groynes removed from the seafront as part of the 17-year Poole Bay Beach Management Scheme led by BCP Council’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) team.
The large purbeck stone blocks have been quarried not far from here at the Suttles’ Swanworth Quarry near Swanage.
The stainless steel cut outs of birds and people have been skillfully prepared just up the road by Accujet metal fabricators in Upton.
BARI Poole Harbour Paddle Power Map
Your guide to safety advice, wildlife sensitivities and top tips so you can enjoy your adventures knowing you’re safe and helping keep local wildlife safe too. The BARI Paddle Power map has been created in collaboration with watersports professionals, conservation charities, Poole Harbour Commissioners and RNLI.
Wading birds
Download the Paddle Power Map
Full leaflet, PDF (11Mb)
BARI – the Bird and Recreation Initiative
The project is delivered jointly between BCP Council and The Bird and Recreation Initiative, BARI, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about winter migratory birds in Poole Harbour and wildlife friendly recreation:
- Birds of BARI website at www.birdsofbari.org.uk
- Birds of BARI Facebook
- Birds of BARI Instagram
- Poole Harbour Recreation Mitigation
- www.dorsetheaths.org.uk/bari
Project details
Budget £35,600
Funding Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) set aside for the Poole Harbour Recreation Mitigation Strategy
Contractors BCP Council Landscape Construction Team
Contact Barbara Uphoff, Landscape Designer, BCP Council
T. 01202 123123
E. greenspaces@bcpcouncil.gov.uk