Flats plan approved for former Bournemouth University building

Bournemouth House in Christchurch Road was once the largest office building in the south.

BCP Council planners have agreed the scheme for alterations and the conversion of the existing post-war building, which includes four commercial units for café, office or retail use off the existing lobby.

It had previously been used by Bournemouth University for student accommodation and was once known as the Bowmaker Building. It already has a 2019 planning consent for conversion to offices.

Agents for the owner described the existing building as “a pleasant enough building” although currently “looking drab and in need of modernisation".

Other changes include a 40-space cycle store for residents being moved to face St Swithuns Road and a similar sized new cycle store on the Christchurch Road side. The site also has 28 unallocated parking spaces.

The changes allow for nine flats on the ground floor, 18 on the first floor, 16 each on the second and third floors and four on the fourth floor.

Other changes include residents storage and a gym in the basement.

Almost all of the alterations will be internal with the exception of creating some new windows.

BCP Council said it received no comments about the proposal and its own officers believe the character of the building will be maintained by the changes.

It also welcomed the decision to retain the “Bowmaker” foundation stone on the eastern side of the building and to putting a picture of the Bowmaker Building in its heyday in the lobby to help tell the storey of the buildings original design, construction and past occupation.

The building was originally built in 1960 as the offices for Lloyds Bowmaker, a local hire purchase business, before the university changed the use to education in 1990. Lloyds Bowmaker was established in 1927 and grew to have assets of around £80M by the early 1960s. The building was once the largest office block in the south.