Thursday, April 26, 2007

Student Block on the Winter Gardens Site

First we won – then we lost – then we carried on fighting!

Local residents have been horrified by the Lib Dem Council’s plans to build a massive student block at the back of the former Winter Gardens site.

Together with residents in Cranborne Road and Tregonwell Road, the Conservative Ward Councillors have led the fight to change the Council’s mind. The impact on many people in the area will be severe, both from the building itself and from the introduction of housing for 163 students to this quiet and tranquil part of the town.

Ward Councillor, John Beesley, said ‘This has to be one of the worst pieces of planning I have witnessed on Bournemouth Council. The residents in the area really do deserve much better than this in a planning application from their own Council.’

He continued, ‘Whatever your views on the need or viability of the proposed development, if it is going to happen it must be of the highest quality to pass the tests required by planners and the student block clearly does not. It does not satisfy a number of local planning policies and is contrary to the adopted strategy for the site which has only just been adopted by the Council.’

Ward colleague Cllr Barry Goldbart said, ‘The Council’s own policy states that the students should be housed on the part of the site facing out onto Priory Road. This would be across the road from the BIC and well away from the local residents and the many smaller family hotels.’

Ian Newport, who is a Conservative candidate for Westbourne & West Cliff Ward in the local elections said, ‘The Council consulted local residents on the strategy for the Winter Gardens site and having agreed it, then decided to move this student block as near to the local residents as possible. Why should local residents be treated like this just so that the Lib Dem Council can rush through a decision only days before the local elections? It’s a disgrace that the Council should behave in this way and I am sure that a Conservative Council will do everything possible to get the student block removed’.

Residents in Cranborne Road and Tregonwell Road have been extremely robust in fighting their corner and have spoken at both of the Planning Board meetings and the full Council meeting when the decision was made. The Bournemouth hoteliers’ own trade association are also strongly against the student block and brought a deputation to the Council meeting. Local residents are in the process of taking their own action to try to get the student block stopped and are backed up by almost all those living in the area whose homes will be blighted by this dreadful scheme. The residents and local hotels in this part of the West Cliff will continue to receive the fullest support from the Conservative Ward Councillors who will also look at every means possible to try to stop the development of this unwanted and unnecessary student block.

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