A new housing scheme worth £10.4 million has been proposed for the 9-11 St Stephen’s Road car park site, near Bournemouth Square, to encourage more families to live in the town centre. The plan is to build up to 56 new homes, made up of eight town houses and forty-eight apartments along with residential car parking and will be considered by Bournemouth Council’s Cabinet on 28 January.
The proposals for three- and four-bedroom town houses and two residential blocks made up of one, two and three-bedroom apartments for open market sale will be aimed at young professionals working in the town centre. An affordable housing element is also being considered specifically aimed at key workers in the town centre.
The Leader of the Council, Councillor John Beesley, said: “Building high quality new homes in the central location of St Stephen’s Road will attract more families to live in the town centre. The development will help to boost further investment in the area, increase footfall and retail spend, as well as support local employment during construction.
“The Three Towns Travel improvements at nearby Richmond Hill are revitalising this key town centre route to enhance the local environment for everyone. We are focused on the importance of investing in strategic projects to encourage growth in the local economy and accelerate regeneration in Bournemouth.”
The proposal for St Stephen’s Road is the latest development to be brought forward by the Bournemouth Development Company (BDC), the council’s joint venture with Morgan Sindall Investments. The BDC has already completed two development projects at Madeira Road and is due to complete the Citrus development at Leyton Mount in the spring.
The St Stephen’s site is currently used as a car park for council staff on weekdays and as a public car park outside these times. Weekend and evening visitors travelling to the town centre by car will still be able to use the many other public car parks and on-street parking in the vicinity.
If Cabinet approves the site development plan, a planning application for the site will be submitted by the BDC in the summer. If progressed, work could start on site in early 2016 with the first residents moving in by 2017.
