THE BCP COUNCIL leader has revealed she heard that The Ivy restaurant was not coming to Bournemouth ‘ages ago’ .

The restaurant was planned to occupy the former New Look unit in the Square after the application was submitted in March 2022.

However, since then the unit has remained boarded up with no answers from The Ivy over more than a year.

Read more: The Ivy is unlikely to open in Bournemouth Square

As revealed by the Echo, there is very little chance that the Ivy will be opening in the Square.

Cllr Vikki Slade, BCP Council leader, previously said that the agreement is between a private business and a private landlord, meaning the council is not involved.

But Cllr Slade has now revealed on social media that she had 'heard it was cancelled ages ago’.

Bournemouth Echo:

The Bournemouth Echo has not received any response from The Ivy on its plans for the town, and a spokesperson for BCP Council said the planning department had not either.

One source told the Echo that directors of the Ivy decided Bournemouth ‘did not align to their brand’ after visiting the town.

Sir Conor Burns, Bournemouth West MP, said he is ‘frustrated’ after attempting to contact The Ivy with no success.

He added that the restaurant would have ‘been a boost’ to the town and if it is not coming then there should be ‘extra impetus’ to bring new life to the centre.

It is rumoured that the directors' reaction to the town was related to activities outside Tesco and the ‘absence of any police response’.

Sir Conor said the level of anti-social behaviour is ‘utterly unacceptable’ and adds to the sense that people do not enjoy coming to the town centre.

However, Dorset Police said it has increased patrols in the area through various operations to tackle anti-social behaviour and other crime.

Paul Kinvig, Bournemouth Town Centre BID chief operating officer, said it would be helpful to know what the situation is with The Ivy so organisations can ‘help them settle’.