Bournemouth has a new event space.

Business owners, community representatives and members of BCP Council gathered at dusk recently to officially mark the commissioning of the new Chine Forest Artworks, situated outside the Old Fire Station on Holdenhurst Road.

The Fire Station Square will be open to bookings via BCP Council from local businesses, organisations and groups, with the artworks and space also available as a venue for showcasing new talent, performance and ideas.

To show off the new space, Holdenhurst Road played host to an array of pop-up entertainment, with dance, musical and walkabout theatre performances.

The Chine Forest art installation is made up of 17 steel columns of varying heights with integrated light and sound elements.

Urban and public space designers at Dallas Pierce Quintero were commissioned to design and deliver the artworks, which evoke memories of Bournemouth’s famous chines and pines. As part of their design process, Dallas Pierce Quinter took into consideration local heritage and cultural themes of technology, innovation, and nature that were identified by local people during the Lansdowne Cultural Consultation held in 2020.

The artworks and event space are the final elements to be delivered within the initial phases of BCP Council’s Lansdowne programme.

Chris Shephard, director of Economic Development at BCP Council said: “It’s great to celebrate this new space and artwork with partners who helped to make it possible, and those who will benefit most from the many improvements that we have made to the area.

“It’s been a long journey and I look forward to seeing events brought forward and hosted here, as well as seeing the Chine Forest artwork capture people’s imagination.”

To deliver these improvements, £4.8million in government funding was secured through Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership Local Growth Fund. A further £2.9million of council match funding from local contributions was also allocated.