Bournemouth Council has now released their latest documents which will guide how the town will evolve and develop for the next fifteen years. The Council has released consultation versions on “The Bournemouth Plan” and the “Bournemouth Town Centre Area Action Plan”. This is the last chance businesses and members of the public will have to comment on the Council’s ideas before they submit the documents to the Government for scrutiny and possible approval.
Gary Palmer, Senior Planner at Goadsby said,
“As a chartered planning consultancy we have been monitoring the development of these documents. They are important as they will be one of the key mechanisms used to decide planning applications for the next fifteen years. Bournemouth’s old local plan will become largely defunct and these new documents will be the ones guiding new development.
Whilst there are many good ideas in the draft plans many of our clients also disagree strongly with the proposals put forward. This is the last chance to make representations on the Council’s proposed plans and it’s very important to do so as the plans could prevent further development and severely affect the value of your asset. It can be a complicated process so it’s always best to use a planning consultant to make sure your point is expressed in the correct way. The closing date for responses is 14th October so we need to act fast.”
The Area Action Plan is based on Bournemouth’s Town Centre Vision and only applies to the town centre of Bournemouth. Ideas include an expanded network of shopping streets, a “grand garden walk”, allowing tall buildings in certain parts of the town, areas of public space, changes to car parking, a new “bus hub” in the centre of town, new housing and student accommodation in the town centre, and a new designated “cultural area”.
Thirty-one sites around the town centre have been allocated for a variety of uses which may restrict what the owners can build on their own land. The council will be relying on private enterprise to develop most of these sites.
The Bournemouth Plan is to be Bournemouth’s new “Core Strategy” which sets out the principles of development for the whole Borough. All other policy will have to conform to this plan. The plan sets the vision and objectives for Bournemouth and aims to create a utopia of a sustainable town with a high quality of life, sufficient housing and full employment whilst also combating global warming. Importantly it sets the principles of development and sets the boundary of the urban area.
The consultation period runs until the 14th October. After this date the documents and any comments received on them will be passed to the Government’s inspector for examination. If the Government finds the documents sound they will immediately become the new planning policy for Bournemouth.
