Winter Gardens project in Bournemouth is paused - here's why

BCP Council leader Drew Mellor has defended the decision to pause the project while wider re-development plans for the area are considered, including the Bournemouth International Centre site.

He told a Monday evening overview committee the authority and its partners will not be rushed into a decision and wanted the final scheme to be the right one, even if that took extra time.

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He claims there is no shortage of third-party finance for development schemes and said that while provisions had been made to meet the costs so far he was confident money would not be lost on the project.

The meeting heard that provision of £5.4m had been made in the council accounts for the Winter Gardens project so far, a joint venture between the authority and the Bournemouth Development Company.

Winter Gardens site demolished

Cllr Steve Bartlett said he feared that if further finance was not found to carry on with the project it could have consequences for the council’s medium-term financial plans and other redevelopment projects in the area.

Cllr Bartlett said it had been frustrating to wait since 2015 for the scheme, only to see it start and then stop again.

The only work undertaken so far is demolition across the site followed by the re-opening of a public car park.

Read more: Winter Gardens: Demolition on Exeter Road finished

Cllr Mellor told one of the council’s overview committees on Monday evening that the authority was only pausing the project while it looked at what might be best for the wider area.

“There will not be a loss, but some of that money may be attributed to a new scheme.

“What we are doing is taking a prudent view,” said the council leader, who told overview committee councillors he was now awaiting to hear redevelopment options from the council’s Future Places team.

Winter Gardens site

“We do not just want to build on car parks, we want to create one of the best places to be in the world and we are determined to get it right.”

He said that if the worst were to happen BDC did have the funds to provide for any loss from the project.

Cllr Mellor said that BDC was making profits from other schemes and, if needed, would use its income from those profit-making developments to offset any potential financial shortfall on the Winter Gardens.

Said Cllr Bartlett: “My concern is for all the other work yet to be done by BDC and all the sites for Future Places. It’s a question of confidence…unfortunately the flagship development for BDC has come to a grinding halt for various reasons.

"What confidence can we now have in sites coming forward, given the situation with the Winter Gardens?”

Chief finance officer Adam Richens said that any new schemes would need to be approved by the Cabinet and Council and would have to be self-financing, with no direct consequences for council taxpayers.

Read more: Gallery: Remembering the Winter Gardens

The £150 million Winter Gardens development has planning consent for than 350 flats, 600 parking spaces and new leisure and retail space.

It was being developed by the Bournemouth Development Company, a partnership between BCP Council and Muse Developments, a Morgan Sindall Group company.

Agreements had been signed to allow the flats to be privately rented through the council company, Seascape, with a forecast that rentals would bring in more than £1.7 million a year.

The Bournemouth Echo has previously reported that the idea of linking the Winter Gardens site with the nearby Bournemouth International Centre is being considered. The two locations are separated by a strip of vacant land and a road.