A LAST-ditch effort to save a Boscombe arts centre from the bulldozer has seen planners inundated with objections.

Around 500 objections have been submitted to Bournemouth council, opposing plans to convert the Boscombe Centre for Community Arts building (BCCA) into family housing.

The Haviland Road site has been gifted to the Bournemouth 2026 partnership, which wants to build Gladstone Mews there – a development of 10 affordable houses, an accessible bungalow, gardens and parking.

It claims the move will benefit low-income residents in the area but Harry Seccombe, who owns Chaplin’s Bar in Boscombe, wants the council to invite tenders from businesses and community members for the site.

He said: “The BCCA site is a legacy from the Shelley family and could be used to promote Boscombe to tourists and help to create much-needed jobs.

“I will be surprised if the council does not listen to the needs of businesses and residents; a museum to Shelley, a cinema and artists’ workshops and exhibition space would have a profound effect on turning Boscombe’s future around.

“We need to capitalise on our assets, not strip them and leave a third of Boscombe residents on benefits.”

And Parry Brooks, who represents Boscombe Cliff residents said: “The BCCA has always been a magnet for the community of Boscombe, both for the arts and specialist activities, and without it Boscombe will lose its central anchor which is so important for a thriving community.”

The building closed in August 2007 after the council decided it was too expensive to repair. Plans to create a £2.3million council centre with a small arts base were subsequently dropped because of lack of finance.

Cllr John Beesley, leader of Bournemouth council, said: “The development of family housing and a community facility will do a great deal to regenerate the local area.

“The development would give first-time buyers the chance to own their own home at an affordable price and would offer additional facilities to benefit the whole community in Boscombe.

“Housing is at the heart of establishing community ownership in Boscombe and helping younger people onto the housing ladder is a crucial part of that being successful.”