THE sale of more than five acres of land to Royal Bournemouth Hospital has been finalised by BCP Council.

Approved by the council’s cabinet in February, the deal for about one-third of the Wessex Fields site forms part of plans to expand the hospital.

The sale has now been signed off with its final terms agreed at the end of last month although the price paid to the council has still yet to be made public.

University Hospitals Dorset, the trust that runs Royal Bournemouth Hospital, approached the council about buying a strip of the Wessex Fields site backing onto its grounds.

The council bought the full 14.6 acre plot for £2.25 million in 2017 and is planning to develop it into a science and technology business park.

“We’ve got a massive opportunity in the Wessex Fields area to create something really special,” the council’s cabinet member for regeneration, councillor Phil Broadhead, said in February.

“It’s not just about creating a brown industrial park, it’s about utilising the fantastic relationships we’ve got to create a medi-tech science park.”

The sale to the trust also includes provision for a new “continuous” road, linking the A338 and Deansleigh Road, to be built through the site.

The section sold will be used to expand the hospital’s facilities, through its partnership with Bournemouth University, and will include new research centres.

The hospital trust is going through the planning process for the details of a major redevelopment of the Royal Bournemouth site.

Outline planning permission for the project has been granted by the council along with several of the final details of the scheme required before work can start.

Although councillors gave their backing for the deal earlier this year, it was not completed until the final terms were signed off by council chief executive, Graham Farrant, on March 31.

The record of his decision published last week but its details have been kept private due to containing “exempt” financial information.