Concerns over BCP Council plans to sell former Christchurch Borough Council offices

CONCERNS have been raised over plans to find new uses for the former Christchurch Borough Council offices.

During a lengthy meeting of BCP Council's overview and scrutiny committee, calls were made to stop any further spending on the site until a flood plan could be evaluated, writes Trevor Bevins of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The issue came up during a wider debate was about the future of former council buildings in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

Among the ideas being worked on are converting Poole Civic Centre to a hotel and housing, with a similar proposal for the former Christchurch Borough Council offices.

Deputy leader Cllr Phil Broadhead defended all the projects, saying the council was likely to retain ownership of most of the sites, collecting rental income for years to come, while at the same time offering new homes and revitalising the areas.

All the projects will go before ruling cabinet meetings in February and March for a decision on whether they should continue beyond the outline business case stage.

Cllr Broadhead said that commercial sensitivity meant that, at this stage, the details of the plans could not be made public.

But he said they would be at the right time, if any were given the go-ahead to where development was likely.

National hotel chains had expressed interest in the former Christchurch council site, although different floor levels within the building and a flood risk were likely to make the development more problematic.

Cllr Marcus Andrews called for a halt to any further spending on the site until the flood risk issues could be resolved with the Environment Agency and planning officers.

He said he doubted if the building could be developed for a boutique hotel without meeting a set of strict criteria to overcome planning objections and Environment Agency concerns.

He pointed to BCP Council’s rejection of the nearby former Star Inn for offices and flats on the grounds of flood risk.

His plea was rejected, with a flood mitigation plan likely to be drawn up as the outline business case for the project develops.

Cllr Lesley Dedman said the area was already well provided with hotels, claiming the plan showed “a lack of ambition”.

She called for greater community use to be considered, opening up the waterfront.

One of two adjoining central Poole car parks is being proposed for housing with commercial units, with a site at Constitution Hill earmarked for housing – including the conversion of some existing buildings once used by Bournemouth and Poole College.

There was also a plea for the Poole Chapel Lane car park development to be carried out by the private sector, rather than the BCP council.

The current proposals is for 27 apartments and seven commercial units which could range from shops to a gym, cafes, facilities for children or even light industrial.

Cllr Steve Bartlett said he did not want to see the authority taking any more financial risk and would prefer to see the private sector carry out the development, if it were to go ahead.

All of the projects are being worked on by the council’s arms-length Future Places team, although the Constitution Hill project, if it goes ahead, will probably come under the council’s housing department.

That scheme involves converting some of the better buildings on the site, saving the chapel, and using surrounding land to build new properties – bringing around a hundred extra homes to the area.

It and the Poole Civic Centre plans were the only projects which received qualified support during the meeting, although several made a plea for space to be found for the office of Poole’s mayor and the coroner’s office within the former Poole council building.

Councillors were told there had been strong interest from national hotel chains in the Poole site using the core of the building, with the ‘arms’ being converted to housing and, possibly, retaining space for civic uses.

Several councillors disputed claims that the Chapel Lane car park was under-used, claiming it was one of the council’s highest fee earners, with questions about how adding commercial units to the site would help revitalise the nearby section of Poole High Street.

Some said they would prefer to see the commercial units removed with two storey homes built on the site instead.

Cllr Steve Bartlett described the project as against free-market principles if the council were to carry it out, saying: “We should be taking less risk, less borrowing and putting it out to the market.”

His call to sell the site was rejected.