PROPERTY developer Richard Carr of Fortitudo Ltd has set the wheels in motion for the transformation of Bournemouth and surrounding areas.
Last month, it was announced by Fortitudo that a "substantial" Bournemouth town centre site, home to Cameo Nightclub, Norwegian Wood Café, Oasis Fun and a multi-storey car park, is set to be demolished to make way for new facilities.
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- Richard Carr unveils plans for "ground-breaking" facilities for site home to Cameo
- £24million development to build 122 flats in the heart of Poole is unveiled
According to Richard, the planning application for the property will be submitted in "the next two to three months and it is being worked on as we speak."
Plans have also been unveiled for a £24million flats development in the heart of Poole town centre.
Fortitudo want to build a block of 122 one and two-bedroom apartments at the corner plot of Longfleet Road and Parkstone Road.
To find out more about Fortitudo's ambitious plans for the future and the company's involvement with the local community, I spoke to Richard Carr.
You have a few new schemes which have been unveiled recently, why did Fortitudo take the opportunity to invest during the pandemic?
"I took the view at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 that we would come out of it and that a lot of developers would be sitting tight. I wanted to push on, and we’ve done that and worked very hard. We have managed to secure opportunities we couldn’t have done otherwise."
How do you think you can help breathe new life back into our town centres?
"There is no doubt that Bournemouth is going through a difficult patch in its life at the moment. It’s not even an old town, but nothing has really changed.
"In line with what the local authority wants to do and what we, Fortitudo, want to do, I want to rejuvenate the town I have spent most of my life living in.
"There is a huge opportunity to rejuvenate Bournemouth. Bournemouth had a buoyant nightlife economy which has diminished in recent years. Part of what made the university so successful was the nightlife in Bournemouth.
"But, the nightlife has not really seen new venues for many years and it needs rejuvenating. The same goes for the retail offering in Bournemouth.
"In my opinion, what has happened to retail in the past year due to the pandemic is what I expected to happen in 2030.
"There has got to be a radical change. There is too much and it needs to be compressed into smaller, higher-quality offerings."
How much has the pandemic shaped your schemes in terms of people’s living requirements?
"As a business, we are putting more into our apartments, such as home offices. All have outside amenities, and we are including larger balconies. We are also trying to make more use of roof space on buildings for outdoor gardens.
"People will be spending more time at home and more homes need different amenities now as more time will be spent there."
How do you see your role in addressing the housing deficit across the area?
"There is a housing shortage, and our main aim is to provide houses for people to buy starter homes. A lot of young people want to get on to the housing ladder.
"It’s an opportunity for us to fulfil that position in the marketplace. But, you can’t argue that our 22 flats in Ashley Cross, for example, haven’t improved the area. The development includes a Co-op and the apartments are spectacular.
"We overprovide because we want people to be able to walk into their new home and be happy with what they have bought, which is all part of building a brand."
You seem very committed to helping transform BCP, what still makes you so passionate about the area after all these years?
"I think Bournemouth, Poole and the local area in general is a beautiful place. My passion is to make the amenities better, because if the amenities are better, the quality of life is better, and if that’s better, the area is better.
"From a selfish point of view, I want to make Bournemouth better. It was different to other town in the 80s. I used to work in hotels, and when you’d drive into Bournemouth it was spotlessly clean, there were flowers everywhere and it was beautiful.
"We’ve got an opportunity, with the will of the local government, for lots and lots of people to have better amenities."
How important are things like sustainability to you when it comes to new developments?
"All Fortitudo apartments use air source heat pumps for heating and hot water, and we do not fit gas into any buildings or developments. Sustainability is important to us, but it is a major issue for this industry which has an enormous carbon footprint.
"Almost all of the materials come from Europe or China and it’s quite frankly, a travesty that we have to import so many materials."
How do you see the area changing over the next 10 to 20 years and beyond?
"I think that the town is going to change for a lot more, quality offerings. Here’s something to think about. We, arguably, sit on the second largest natural harbour in the world but when you try to think of local places that offer seafood, you can’t get past two or three places.
"There must be an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to provide more quality restaurants. Why do we not have more quality restaurants and hotels? I want to be involved and help as much as I can."
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