A PUBLIC consultation is being launched over a "significant" development in Poole.

Property developer Kingsbridge Estates has purchased the 10.7-acre site at Sopers Lane, formerly owned by Siemens PLC.

Planning consultancy Tor&co is launching a public consultation website for Kingsbridge Estates.

This will launch on Monday, March 11, to allow residents to read about the emerging proposal and have their say.

The new development will comprise new flexible commercial/warehouse spaces.

A spokesperson for Tor&co said: “The Sopers Lane site is an exciting opportunity to bring forward significant investment into a well-established employment area.

“The proposal is to replace outdated office buildings with best-in-class, flexible and sustainable commercial spaces, ranging from smaller premises for start-up companies to a larger building designed to meet the needs of a locally based high-tech engineering company.

“The scheme, proposed by Kingsbridge, a developer of exceptional commercial workspaces across the south, has the potential to support local employment, contribute positively to the local economy and deliver significant ecological enhancements.”

The website at soperslanepoole.co.uk will give residents the opportunity to read about the proposal and provide feedback.

The Sopers Lane site opened as a munitions factory in May 1940 and remained so until the 1950s, when the government began making the site available for other uses.

In 1966, the Plessey Company took on the site and began designing and developing its products.

World wide web inventor Sir Tim Berners Lee worked as an engineer at Plessey in Poole early in his career.

Siemens soon took over and operated at the site for more than 30 years.

The site itself is within a designed employment zone in the Poole Local Plan.

DTRE and Freeths advised the team at Kingsbridge Estates on the purchase, while CBRE and Osborne Clarke advised Siemens Plc.