New analysis of beach capacity has revealed that only 78,000 people can fit onto Bournemouth beach if social distancing guidelines are followed.
The research by Esri UK comes after up to half a million people descended onto the beach last month, forcing the council to declare a major incident.
The spatial analysis also shows 60,000 could hypothetically fit onto Brighton’s beach and 24,000 people on Newquay’s beach.
Sam Bark, cartographer at Esri UK, said: ‘Spatial analysis can help give local authorities a rapid indication of capacity, for a range of different spaces in these unprecedented times, not just beaches, such as green space or even indoors.
’Obviously the figures come with a few caveats, as most beach goers are in groups of more than one and people don't remain static.’
