THE eight-figure sum BCP Council spent to purchase the former coal fired power station in Poole can now be revealed.
The former Holes Bay power station in Hamworthy has been an empty wasteland since it was demolished in 1994.
It was bought by the then newly formed BCP Council back in 2020 for £14.65million, an Echo FOI has revealed.
However, £5 million of that money was from the local growth fund investment from the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) – so the cost to BCP Council was £9.65m.
And it’s believed that figure is the largest single purchase BCP Council has made in its five-year history.
According to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator, £14.65million in 2020 is now worth £18.03million today.
The power station closed 30 years ago and the site has been earmarked as having potential for housing for more than 20 years.
Previous plans for the land from former owners, which had been approved by the council, were put on hold due to concerns about viability.
When the site was acquired by the council, initial plans were for more than 800 homes alongside ‘unlocking’ commercial and employment opportunities.
FuturePlaces, the former council-owned urban regeneration company, was tasked with bringing forward recommendations for a “waterfront quarter urban village”.
However, that idea has so far been shelved after the contentious company was dissolved earlier this year.
Weeds and vegetation are now dominating the 40-acres of disused land, with the only evidence it’s still on the council’s mind being new fencing and signs warning people to stay off the land.
Looking to the future, BCP Council has teased it will still be used as a site for housing. The draft local plan, which still needs to be passed by a government inspector, has allocated it as a site for mixed use development.
BCP’s lead member for regeneration projects Mark Howell said the land will still play a “key role” in Poole’s revitalisation.
He added: “This is our largest brownfield site and will be developed as a new mixed-use community.
“As with any large regeneration project, the environmental requirements of the site will be considered as we work to develop the masterplan.
“This project is now a priority for delivery by BCP Council and an active security, safety and management programme for the site is in place.
“Essential site maintenance will take place this autumn, once the bird nesting season is over. Other biodiversity considerations are also being reviewed.”
Cllr Millie Earl, leader of BCP Council said: “The site has been redundant for over 30 years. We acquired the site due to market failure, with the sole purpose of bringing forward a large brownfield site for mixed use development.
“This acquisition was supported by Local Growth Fund investment from Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the purchase was made with the long-term view of benefiting Poole and Hamworthy's community for many decades to come.
“As we work to bring this mixed-use development forward, the major investment we made into the town of Poole will attract commerce, achieve our aspirations to build good quality homes for local people, align with the homebuilding priorities of the new government and play the main role in revitalising this area of BCP.”
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