One Step Forward, One Step Back For Major Bournemouth Redevelopment

Described as the biggest town centre redevelopment in Bournemouth’s history, the regeneration scheme of the Winter Gardens has been put before the planning board with a recommendation for refusal.

“It's an improvement but still not good enough” – that’s the verdict on the redrawn proposals. The plans are indeed ambitious with plans for apartments, hotel and a cinema.

Planning officers accept the town centre site has the potential for a mixed-use scheme and say the scheme is markedly improved from the first set of plans, which were submitted in January and withdrawn two months later.

But there are still concerns that the buildings are too dominant and out of character with the surrounding area, that the public square is not grand enough to be a focal point and that the cinema is tucked away towards the back of the development.

The report that was put before councillors on Monday stated: “The overall scale is inappropriate to the aims of the Area Action Plan and the development will not respect the character of the former Winter Gardens site and will not produce a good enough quality development between the Hotel and Terrace Mount sites.”

The scheme, which would cost around £75million to build, comprises a cinema, external piazzas for winter ice skating and public events, restaurants, a new 100 to 120-bedroom hotel, around 141 residential apartments and 595 car parking spaces.

They say there is interest from an “internationally-known American leisure operator” to run the cinema and leisure elements and that Accor Group has confirmed interest in running the hotel as a full-service Novotel.

Cllr Dave Kelsey, the chairman of Bournemouth’s planning board, said: “We will look at every aspect of it and make a decision accordingly. It’s a massive scheme for Bournemouth so it’s important we get it right.”