Dorset Police have objected to the sale of alcohol at a £50 million restaurant and cinema complex planned for Bournemouth.
The ‘Nautilus’ development next to the Pavilion is supposed to revitalise Westover Road and create 300 jobs.
The police object to all licensing applications in the town centre, because it is a “cumulative impact zone”, where the concentration of alcohol sales has created too much violence.
The scheme has terrace bar, public gardens on a roof that covers a 357-space car park, a nine screen cinema and a dozen restaurants.
A spokesman for the developer, the Trevor Osborne Group, said: “We are not surprised because the development is in a cumulative impact zone and negotiations are ongoing.
“The original application referred to licences until 2am, now we are revising this proposal until midnight, which we think will be more acceptable to the police.
“There’s going to be a bar on the terrace but most of the development is with restaurants – it’s not alcohol driven. All these points will be picked up by the local authority.
“What we are applying for at the moment is a provisional statement. We are not fazed by the objection, it’s not unexpected. It’s a negotiation process.”
Odeon Cinemas will move across the road into the Nautilus development when it is open in 2014, freeing up a major part of Westover Road for redevelopment.
Mr Osborne won a contract to develop the site back in 2007, when the proposals controversially included a casino.
Bournemouth Council confirmed a licensing objection had been made but would not give any more details.
A Dorset Police spokesman said: “We have has supplied feedback to the local authority. No further details will be released.”
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