Objections to plans to convert Beales department store in Bournemouth

Plans are in place to convert the former department store in the town centre into 130 flats and commercial and business space. 

Structural work would see the building extended to a total of 13 storeys including the current basement, lower ground, and upper ground floors, if approved. 

Residents, as well as the Bournemouth Civic Society, have written letters of objection to BCP Council. 

CGI of Beales plans (Image: Terence O'Rourke Ltd)

Ken Mantock, chairman of the society, took issue with the lack of parking spaces to accommodate the hundreds of people who would move into the area if plans were approved. 

He said: “It is a concern that there is no car parking for the new residents, so this highlights the need for existing town centre car parks to be retained so that shoppers as well as residents have somewhere to park."

Read more: Plans submitted to transform iconic Beales building into flats 

Proposals include 45 car parking spaces accessed by two car lifts at the ground floor, lower ground and basement levels, and cycle storage in two areas accommodating 178 bikes. 

Beales in Bournemouth town centre (Image: Daily Echo)

Mr Mantock added: “The society was sad to see the demise of such a well known retailer in the town, we think that in compensation, the new design that is proposed is a most considerable aesthetic improvement which at one stroke would abolish the extreme visual dichotomy that had existed between the post war appearance of Beales and the high quality, late 19th century, retail architecture by which the store was surrounded.” 

Read more: Empty Bournemouth shops attracting interest, says council chief

Another objector called the plans an “absolute travesty” and a “complete ruination of a wonderful store”. 

Beales in 1900 (Image: Daily Echo)

She added: “Instead of allowing the destruction of Beales, offer the right incentive to bring back a major retailer.  

“As a resident of Bournemouth, I would like to see decent, shopping back in the town centre, not more apartments that will end up as investor units with transient tenants coming and going, bringing with them more litter, more noise, more illegal parking and more crime.” 

The applicants said the mixed-use redevelopment would "help meet identified needs for housing" and create a "positive contribution to the regeneration of Bournemouth town centre".
The proposal is currently being assessed by BCP Council's planning department.