BOURNEMOUTH has been promoted to a city, according to an article in the national press.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday's property supplement, Paul Eoin cites the "aspiring world-class city" as leading the field, alongside Southampton, in attracting London-based home buyers with affordable flats.

After citing the Bournemouth Development Company, a partnership between the council and Morgan Sindall Investments, as pivotal in developing "vacant or under-used sites" around the town, Mr Eoin goes on to highlight the "city centre" St Stephens Road car park scheme given the green light earlier this year.

With Bournemouth "keen to be seen as a modern, liveable city", the author writes, the IMAX building was torn down to make way for a planned cultural centre to be designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

Meanwhile, residents looking for "equally impressive homes in the city" should look no further than the Terrace Mount development for "world-class living in an aspiring world-class city".

Of course the only issue is that Bournemouth is a town.

Anyone can make a mistake but the issue of Bournemouth's potential city status and perceived pre-eminence among its neighbours has been a source of controversy in recent years.

Back in 2012 the town was one of 26 across the country competing for city status in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year.

In a You-Gov survey, Bournemouth was the joint most popular choice for city status among the public. Both Bournemouth and Reading scored 12 per cent of public support.

But Chelmsford, Perth and St Asaph were awarded the honour.

Now the town's authorities have been accused in some circles of a power grab through proposals to merge Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole councils into one unitary authority, and the increasing sharing of services between Bournemouth and Poole.

Critics of these policies, intended to save cash, claim they are a threat to the independent identity of Bournemouth's neighbouring towns.

Either way, the misidentification of the town as a city in the national press is likely to raise a few hackles.