The Keogh Foundation is currently reviewing a partnership with Newquay Town Council in the gifting of a surf statue to the people of Newquay, which will celebrate the importance of Bluewater surfing to the town, which is a major contributor to the economy helping attract tourists and funding, which supports local jobs and businesses.

The statue depicts a bronze surfer riding a wave, it will stand at 5 metres tall (16 feet), and will celebrate the start of Bluewater surfing which came to the bay 60 years ago. Mr and Mrs Keogh’s Foundation charitable trust  is offering to gift the surf statue, which is worth in excess of £100,000, to Newquay to celebrate the beginning of bluewater surfing in the UK and Europe.

Bluewater surfing began in Newquay 60 years ago and anyone who wanted to have a blast at surfing would have to have brought their surfboard from a manufacturer based in and around Newquay! There was nowhere else in Great Britain, or even Europe for that matter, where surfboards were manufactured and the Newquay based manufacturers delivered  to the UK and exported throughout Europe, spanning France, Spain, and Portugal.

Surfing remains at the heart of Newquay’s identity with it being the surf capital of the UK. It is believed that the statue would be financially beneficial to the town, making the statue a worldwide destination for surfers of generations. Malcolm Bell MBE, Chief Executive for Visit Cornwall has anecdotally suggested that the statue could increase the Tourist Industry within Newquay by £500,000 annually.

Newquay Town Council would be responsible for the initial costs of siting; both in the provision of a suitable site and the preparation (such as the transport, installation of a concrete base, electricity supply for lighting, insurance costings and security provision). This would be a cost to Newquay Town Council and residents estimated at £20,000 (subject to inflation and material costs, it is impossible to mitigate spiralling costs and may increase further than quoted). Newquay Town Council are also investigating the possibility to power the lighting around the statue using Solar energy, the costs for this are yet to be confirmed.

It is expected that the ongoing maintenance costs, for matters such as electricity, cleaning, and insurance, is estimated to be £2,500 per annum (Depending on increases to electrical usage and if solar is utilised). Newquay Town Council have identified a single location on which the Surf Statue can be situated on, which is the Killacourt. There were several other locations which would have been ideal, such as Fistral Battery, Fistral Beach Tolcarne Beach and Towan Headland, however, these weren’t suitable due to ground works and appropriate licensing & permissions.