Exciting news for the world of surfing was announced yesterday. The Wave: Bristol has been granted planning permission to build a £6.5 million inland surfing lake.
The decision came today after waiting for planning permission to be approved by South Gloucestershire Council. Olympic snowboarder Jenny Jones even pitched up at the council meeting to lend her words of support for the project.
“”relief, disbelief and utter excitement””
Nick Hounsfield, CEO of The Wave: Bristol, told BBC News that he felt “relief, disbelief [and] utter excitement” at the decision.
The Wave will be using Wavegarden technology to create the world’s longest man-made wave. The idea is that it will be the closest thing to an inland ocean break, creating perfect conditions for surfing.
It will be the second artificial wave in the UK to receive planning permission. While the Wavegarden was first test run in Northern Spain, Surf Snowdonia in North Wales will be the world’s first publicly accessible Wavegarden artificial surfing lagoon. It’s due to open later this year.
How will it ride? Watch the video from the Spanish demo site below – looks sick, eh!