Redevelopment saga over derelict Pinebeach Nursing Home back before council

Jackson Developments have applied to BCP Council to make alterations to the designs for a redevelopment of the Pinebeach Nursing Home site in Southcliffe Road.

The firm want to alter a raft of details in the application from Lifecaring Holdings, which was approved by Christchurch Borough Council in 2016.

These plans include demolishing the care home building, which has been vacant since December 2015, and replacing it with a three-storey block of 10 apartments.

Jackson Developments want to change the floor plans for each level of the proposed building, as well as the elevations.

However, 20 residents from Southcliffe Road and the surrounding area have filed their opposition to this condition variation application, which includes additional windows in the scheme.

One resident said: “It is obvious that the approved plans were poorly designed and are impractical, but instead of repeatedly submitting further applications to increase the size of the building the developers should accept that this site is not big enough for their plans and reduce the number of units.”

Another resident added: “This latest proposal is still out of scale and completely out of character with the surrounding area.”

As previously reported, a fourth set of plans to flatten the building in Friars Cliff were withdrawn by site owners Jackson Developments in April this year.

At the time, Simon Jackson, owner of Jackson Developments, said: “A planning approval is in place. A discussion would have taken place between the council and the architect and withdrawing the application was the outcome.”

He said building would begin “as and when the right time comes”.

Residents in the area have had to put up with various issues of anti-social behaviour on the site since the nursing home closed four years ago.

The period for comments from residents on this scheme closed in late October and is currently being considered by BCP Council’s planning department.