BOURNEMOUTH Council has revealed its £27million vision for the Lansdowne area.

It comes after the authority was awarded £8.5million in government funding last week to create a ‘world class’ business district in that part of town.

It aims to create 4,500 jobs and bring an estimated £200m worth of investment to the area - while improving access from the train station to Lansdowne roundabout and St Swithun's roundabout.

The project includes:

*Filling in the roundabout near Bournemouth Railway Station

*Semi-pedestrianising Holdenhurst Road - allowing access to buses

*Removing the Lansdowne Roundabout and creating a pedestrianised plaza in the area

*Earmarking nine sites for potential development for offices, residential and student housing

*Replacing surface car parks lost to development with multi-storey car parks

Bill Cotton, executive director for environment and economy at the council, has been working on the Lansdowne project for nearly three years.

Speaking to the Echo about the scheme he said: "It did feel that Lansdowne was a bit under-invested and un-loved when actually it is a really valuable bit of real estate.

"What we wanted to do with this scheme is find a way to improve the area for all stakeholders and make it work better for the town.

"The aim is to create a vibrant area that can be enjoyed by businesses, residents and students."

One of the major infrastructure projects will see the roundabout near Bournemouth railway station filled in and replaced with a crossroads junction controlled by traffic lights.

Vehicles, other than buses and and taxis, will be prohibited from turning into Holdenhurst Road - which will be pedestrianised as part of the scheme.

The Lansdowne Roundabout will also be removed - creating a through road from Old Christchurch Road to Christchurch Road towards the St Swithun's Roundabout.

"With the plans to pedestrianise parts of Holdenhurst Road we want to create somewhere people want to go and spend their time, rather than just a through road from the town centre to the train station," added Mr Cotton.

"The aim is to encourage bars and restaurants along the road to spill out onto the pavement."

"And the Lansdowne Roundabout area we want to make less of a traffic island and more of a plaza for people to sit and enjoy their lunch break.

"Further down the line there could also be an opportunity to use it as part of our events strategy - such as hosting a Christmas market or stalls during the Air Festival."

The entire project is estimated to cost around £27million. So far the council has invested £3.5m into the project and has also received £8.5m from funding secured by the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

But Mr Cotton is confident that as the project moves forward there will be more people interested in investing.

"By investing into the Lansdowne area it gives confidence to the other businesses in the area that we are dedicated to making improvements and creating a world class area for them to use and enjoy," he added.

"We are confident that investment will encourage more investment and for now we are using this LEP funding to provide the glue to bring it all together.

"And by developing the Lansdowne area we will be creating much needed employment and housing while also protecting the town centre and the seafront - and creating links between the areas."

A number of sites around the area have been earmarked for development as part of the scheme - including Cotlands Road car park which would be replaced with homes and a children's play area.

"We don't want to just create a sterile business district where everything closes at 6pm, we want to create a more mixed community," added Mr Cotton.

"And with the introduction of more residents in the area we will have to look into the possibility of a new school and children's play area.

According to Mr Cotton the next stage of the process will focus on traffic modelling - to see which traffic calming measures will work - and developing a parking scheme in the area which could see the introduction of multi-storey car parks to replace the surface ones which have been demolished.

The council will then move forward with public consultation and submitting planning applications with work beginning on the key sites by next year.

However Mr Cotton did explain that the entire scheme is anticipated to take 10 years to complete.

To find out more about the project go to lansdownebournemouth.co.uk.