This Pro-Brexit Seaside Town Is Starting to Fret

On any given weekday in the British seaside town of Bournemouth, surfers can be found dragging in their boards from the sandy beach to get smoothies and beers. Retirees and office workers take midday strolls along a seaside path lined with busy seafood restaurants and ice cream stalls.

A visitor to this city of 193,000 on the southwest coast of England would have trouble discerning signs of a Brexit-induced slowdown. Bournemouth is home to two universities, a 4,000-person JPMorgan Chase & Co. back-office operation, and a larger-than-normal collection of white-collar service businesses, including law firms, digital startups, and health-care providers. Their combined presence lends the place an economic vibrancy that’s long been missing at other seaside resorts in the U.K. Nevertheless, interviews with local executives and government officials indicate that Britain’s decision to quit the European Union is taking a toll. They speak of delayed investments, labor shortages, and budget cuts that appear to threaten the area’s prosperity.