FURTHER to the comments in your paper by Chris Saunders, I would like to reassure the council that the construction of a butterfly house on the old Imax site would not block the view from Bath Hill.

There is no reason why the height could not be kept at the same height as that of the current wall. This would be achieved by having, say, a complex of interconnected small domes rather than one large one.

The butterfly house at Stratford on Avon brings in additional tourists who visit the area simply to see the attraction. We know that it would do the same for Bournemouth, such are the attractions of butterfly houses. We estimate that one would attract at least 300,000 visitors a year to the town and could be as high as 500,000. The additional income for everyone involved with the tourist trade would be considerable, as would be the income to the Council for the rent of the site. In addition there would be many new employment opportunities for locals

I cannot think of any other attraction that would so readily appeal to people of all ages. Perhaps the Council would tell us what they have planned to put on the site.

I again urge the town not to miss this exciting opportunity to have a world-class attraction. The area lost the chance of having a zoo when, in the 1950’s, Gerald Durrell was refused permission to locate one in the area and he placed it in Jersey. Don’t let’s make the same mistake again.

DR RODNEY F COOPER, councillor for Wallisdown and Winton West 2007-2015, portfolio holder for culture, leisure and tourism 2010-2013; mayor of Bournemouth, 2013-14