PLANS to grant Boscombe residents greater control over local development are to be put out for consultation by the community forum.

The Neighbourhood Plan scheme, established by the 2011 Localism Act, allows communities to establish policies for planning and development in designated areas, such as allocating sites for house-building and preserving others for certain uses.

If approved, the Plan could be in operation by early next year. Proponents hope it will help tackle the area's preponderance of houses of multiple occupation and associated problems with crime and antisocial behaviour.

Boscombe Forum chairman Harry Seccombe said: "This won't immediately solve Boscombe's problems, but it could start to tackle some of the problems with housing which come up consistently.

"There are quite a few Neighbourhood Plans in place around the country but this would be the first in Bournemouth and Poole. Other areas might pick it up if it is successful.

"How it works is that anything which goes through planning will have to adhere to the Plan, which might say, for example, that for big housing developments no more than 30 per cent of the properties can be one-bed flats.

"It can protect heritage assets, environmental sites and community centres, it could be almost anything."

Neighbourhood Plans are typically set up for a period of five years, although this can be extended.

Another feature is a 'community right to build' which allows the community to put forward its own development proposals with local authority guidance, subject to a referendum.

A thorough consultation process is required to establish the content of the Plan, after which it must win a majority in a council-funded referendum.

The proposal was mooted at a recent meeting of Boscombe Forum.

The meeting also heard the results of a council survey of Boscombe West residents last year, which found that 55 per cent of those surveyed were satisfied with the area as a place to live and felt at home there.

However, only 22 per cent felt safe on the streets at night, and more than 80 per cent of respondents identified drunkenness, drug abuse and "rowdy" behaviour as a problem.