A BOSCOMBE bar owner is hoping his plans for expansion will be a huge boost to the area.

Harry Seccombe, who owns award-winning Chaplin's & The Cellar Bar in Christchurch Road, has applied to Bournemouth Borough Council for permission to create a new dining area and kitchen in the adjoining building, which he also owns.

If approved, he will then be able to create a 30-cover restaurant, which will also create new jobs.

Harry, who has scooped numerous awards for the pub over the years, including Best Night Out in the BH postcode in the 2018 BAPTAs and Britain's Best Beer Garden 2016, is now hoping to put Boscombe on the map as a foodie destination.

He said: "We already do quite good food, but the experience could be a bit better by having a dedicated restaurant, rather than a bar restaurant. We are aiming to get a rosette with the restaurant - that's what we are heading towards.

"I want to win prizes for the food. We need a better environment for the food to achieve that now."

Harry wants to expand the range of food already on offer at Chaplin's, which includes bar snacks as well as dishes such as scallops and snails, with a French brasserie theme.

He added the restaurant and new kitchen area will be housed in the next door building, which was formerly a Credit Union bank, and will be joined to the existing bar by an archway and a door. He is also planning to create a new frontage, in keeping with the traditional Victorian building.

He said: "I want this to be a proper destination venue - people can come and get a really good meal. I think it will really benefit Boscombe as well. There are some good places to eat, but it needs more.

"I think Boscombe is an up and coming place - it's definitely an area that's going to improve."