Rejected on planning grounds four years ago, Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust is hoping its new design for a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) for young people in Dorset will be approved.

But it needs the support of local people.

The trust is aiming to build an eight-bed inpatient unit as part of its Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provision at Alumhurst Road, Bournemouth.

If it gets the go-ahead, it will mean seriously ill young people could be cared for locally instead of being sent for specialist treatment elsewhere – potentially hundreds of miles from family and friends.

The new design has sought to address local concerns about parking, loss of trees and other issues.

Nearby residents were invited to an open day last month to view the proposals and give their comments, and a final set of plans has now been submitted to BCP Council.

The application is live on the council website (search for 7-2022-7797-AW), where you can post your comments up to 18 November.

Rachel Small, service director of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Services, said: “This would be a huge step forward in our provision for young people with serious mental health problems, and would mean for the first time we can provide PICU care locally, rather than send young people to units outside of Dorset. Having a strong public backing would undoubtedly help our case.”

People can visit https://www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/about-us/your-future-hospital. It features digital mock-ups, a detailed explanation on how the proposal has been amended since 2018 and more information on why this is a vital new ward for Dorset’s young people.

The Alumhurst Road project is part of the government’s New Hospitals Programme, which has allocated £67 million to Dorset HealthCare for two new mental health building schemes.

Draft proposals for the second of these, a new adult inpatient facility at St Ann’s Hospital in Poole, will be put before neighbouring residents in November, followed by a full planning application later this year.