THE developers behind new proposals for Bournemouth’s former Winter Gardens site will unveil their vision at a public exhibition this weekend.

Residents are invited to the Royal Exeter Hotel between 12noon and 5pm on Saturday to see details of the planned new hotel, leisure and residential scheme.

They will also be able to discuss the proposals with members of the project team.

Mark Gilpin, planning director at Inland Ltd, said: “We are very excited to be showcasing these exciting new plans. Over the last few months we have been working very hard to develop new proposals that can maximise the potential of this site.

“We very much hope that local residents can come and see what we have to offer. Some of the new proposals will, we think, make a huge cultural impact to the area and we are very excited about this opportunity.”

It is almost a year since the previous planning application for the site, submitted by a different developer, was refused by Bournemouth’s planning committee.

Councillors ruled the scale and design of the proposed eight storey hotel, combined with the overall scale and bulk of the proposed development, would have an adverse impact on the special character of the Winter Gardens site and nearby properties in Cranborne Road.

They also criticised a lack of detail about the design, which they said led me to fear the scheme would not be of the desired quality.

An appeal was originally lodged against the council’s refusal but this has now been withdrawn and the council asked to consider the new application instead.

The height of the hotel has been reduced by two storeys in the new application and developers say it will now sit under the tree canopies of Cranborne Road.