NEW HOMES: Artist’s impression showing how new homes may look in Bournemouth town centre (Picture: AJC Group)

We’re providing planning support for a major residential development to breathe new life into a brownfield site in Bournemouth town centre.

The scheme by Poole-based AJC Group is for 45 new homes – 33 family houses with private gardens and 12 one-bedroom flats – to the rear of Lansdowne House in Christchurch Road.

It is proposed on the site of a former bingo hall, which closed in 2020. AJC is now consulting with the public and stakeholders before a formal planning application is submitted.

The vision for the site focuses on family houses, for which there is a pressing need as emphasised in the recent Dorset and BCP Local Housing Needs Assessment (November 2021).

The proposals would revitalise a vacant brownfield site and address security and anti-social behaviour issues current experienced on the site.

Located in a highly sustainable area of Bournemouth town centre, the site offers convenient access on foot to amenities, shops, services and public transport links.

As a site located so close to town centre uses, its redevelopment will generate, through the occupation of the site by future residents, a significant uplift in local footfall and expenditure to local shops and services.

The proposals for residential use come after the site was extensively marketed through a national commercial agent.

However, despite this long-term marketing, there has been no commercial interest expressed in the site for future leisure/cultural use.

BCP Council has identified the site as an opportunity for residential use in its Local Plan Issues and Options consultation in early 2022.

AJC’s proposals will therefore bring the site into beneficial use and deliver the council’s emerging aspiration for delivering residential homes on this site.

The delivery of 45 new homes on a vacant site of this nature will make an important contribution towards Bournemouth’s housing supply at a time when new homes are drastically needed, especially in the form of family houses in the town centre.

The site has the benefit of two existing and established vehicle accesses from Christchurch Road either side of Lansdowne House.

It is proposed to utilise these access points for road and pedestrian access and egress. The development will result in a reduction in movements to the site when compared to the historic use of the building and car parking.

While there is no requirement for any car parking given the sustainable location of the site, the proposals are set to include 20 surface vehicle parking spaces and 12 of the properties will include garages. All homes and flats will have access to cycle storage to encourage the use of bicycles.

The layout of the proposed development has evolved to prioritise gardens and landscaping adjacent to the site boundaries and existing neighbouring residential properties.

All proposed homes are orientated to face inwards, ensuring minimal impact to the amenity of existing neighbours.

As the site is currently dominated by hardstanding, it provides little to no biodiversity value. However, the proposed redevelopment represents a significant opportunity to substantially increase green space and landscaping on the site, with 33 private gardens and a variety of native street trees and hedges proposed in communal areas, leading to improved biodiversity and habitat gain across the site.

AJC Group, based at Sandbanks in Poole, is one of the region’s leading SME housebuilders.

Visit its bespoke portal to see more details about the proposals and have your say.