PROPERTY developer Richard Carr has shot down a rival plan for a hotel where he wants to build apartments.
Fortitudo’s chief executive described Sandbanks Community Group’s proposal for the Haven Hotel site as a “sideshow to distract” from his development when it goes back to committee.
His firm will soon submit revised plans for 119 flats after BCP Council rejected them in 2022 over flood concerns.
Speaking to the Echo, the Poole-based businessman dismissed the community group’s plans as “ridiculous”.
Mr Carr said: “What they are proposing contradicts their own local neighbourhood plan in many substantial ways."
“The height of it is absolutely ridiculous and will it not get past the Purbeck Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Why on earth do they think that is better than what we have proposed?
“They’ve built into the sea and know that the hotel owns part of the seabed. How are they going to get past the Marine Management Organisation in building a swimming pool which is basically a beach at the present minute?
“The whole thing is a sideshow to distract when our planning application comes forward very, very shortly hopefully in the next couple of months, that we have been working on for the past seven years.”
The community group has so far raised £20,000 for its project which it hopes will include a 100m-high beacon featuring 12 luxury suites.
In comparison, Mr Carr has spent £1.2 million on his apartments, which forms part of a £300m development in Sandbanks which would see another two hotels built.
“I just don’t really understand what they’re playing at, £20,000 wouldn’t even buy the application,” he added.
“It’s to cause deflection from when we go to committee and it’s not realistic."
Mr Carr slammed the community group’s proposals and believes the suites would be tiny.
He added: “They might say they’re working with hotel groups, well if they knew anything about how hotel groups work now, they would know they don’t own hotels anymore, they manage them for a fee.”
As reported, the group said it has been in touch with hotel groups to help finance the hotel plans.
Sandbanks Community Group previously objected to Fortitudo’s plans for three new hotels to modernise and bring new life into the area.
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