A LOCAL developer has bought a well-known West Cliff hotel for £3.75 million.

LaSalle Investment Management sold Philip Oram the 109-bedroom Wessex Hotel, at West Cliff Road.

The popular wedding venue and conference centre features the Lulworth restaurant, bar and a leisure centre.

Cllr David Kelsey, chairman of Bournemouth Borough Council's Planning Board, told the Echo: "Obviously we've worked with Philip a lot with different developments around the town, but he knows that the Wessex Hotel is a prime tourism site and as a council we would expect it to stay as such.

"He would have to give us very detailed reasons why it's not viable anymore, if that was his thinking.

"It's a nice building and hopefully he will refurbish it. It is a bit tired and needs a refurbishment. We will see what he wants to do with it.

"It's very close to the seafront and the BIC, you couldn't get closer to the town centre really. I hope he's going to do something really good with it."

Mr Oram was behind a bid to buy AFC Bournemouth's stadium in 2007, and is also the man behind the scheme to demolish the Punshon Church in Exeter Road and replace it with flats.

He won planning permission in 2012 to demolish the Punshon Memorial Church at Exeter Road to build a seven-storey multi-million Dakota Building  featuring 45 one-bedroom flats and 45 holiday lets opposite the BIC.

The scheme was put on hold during the recession, but in September Mr Oram was granted permission for revised plans for the site, now featuring 109 flats and a restaurant.

Those plans were altered earlier this year to remove 45 holiday flats and replace them with flats for sale, and reduce the overall number of flats to 104.

Mr Oram was also the owner of the Hermitage Hotel for 21 years, but sold it in July to David Young for £7.5m. In August he submitted plans to turn the rotunda in front of the hotel into a restaurant. It has stood empty for 10 years after a boundary dispute with Bournemouth council prevented it being opened.

Martin Rogers, hotels director at Savills, said: "The market for regional hotels remains strong and Bournemouth is one of the most competitive from a property demand perspective, attracting both national and international interest.”