CONTENTIOUS proposals to build a six-storey block of flats in place of a busy car park have been refused for a second time.

Despite the applicant – Bournemouth Development Company (BDC) – being partly-owned by Bournemouth council, its planning board threw out the proposal on Monday due to concerns about the loss of the Durley Road car park.

Councillors unanimously opposed the scheme saying that BDC, a partnership between the council and Morgan Sindall, had failed to address issues raised when they first refused the scheme last year.

Plans were first submitted in 2016 seeking permission to build the block of 44 flats but were rejected due to issues with the design, which was compared to “pressed cardboard”, and the lack of a replacement for the lost parking spaces.

It has drawn criticism from hoteliers, residents, parents from nearby St Michael’s Primary School and patients of neighbouring mental health centre Hahnemann House who all make use of the car park.

However, in a report to the planning board, officers deemed the proposal to be acceptable saying that issues which had been identified during the application process had been dealt with by BDC.

BDC had increased its proposed mitigation work aimed at limiting the impact following the first proposal’s refusal with £354,000 offered to have measures, including a 20mph zone near the school, installed.

Speaking on behalf of parents at Monday’s meeting, Helen Morgan said the loss of the car park would have a “serious” impact on children’s safety when they are walking to and from school.

“The developers say that we choose to drive but we are working parents contributing to Bournemouth’s society.

“The loss of the car park would have a big impact on businesses and it would make the streets around the school more dangerous, bringing more traffic into an already busy area.”

She added that a lack of parking in the area was also affecting teachers and warned that losing the Durley Road car park would “harm staff retention”.

Hoteliers also voiced their opposition to the scheme saying that it was “not in the best interests of Bournemouth”.

Heather Decas, the owner of the Dean Hotel, said: “As a hotelier I know that one of the first the first questions from customers is about parking.

“The tourism industry is so important to Bournemouth and the car park is relied on by so many people visiting the town.

“Though this development will not affect me, it is not in the best interests of Bournemouth.

The application was due to be considered at last month’s meeting of the planning board but was deferred just an hour before with BDC considering last minute amendments to the proposal.

Despite the changes, councillors still voted unanimously to refuse the application saying that any loss of parking spaces needed to be made up.

“It’s got to be managed really carefully,” Cllr Chris Wakefield said. “If we are closing one car park then we must also increase spaces in that same area.

“We need places for people to park. If people cannot park then they are not going to come. I think it could affect our thriving tourism industry and we need to keep that.”

Board chairman Cllr David Kelsey praised improvements to the design of the building that had been made following the refusal of the first application but said he was “concerned about the major issue of the car park”.

Speaking after the board had agreed to dismiss the application on the grounds that it did not meet its town centre action plan parking policy, Cllr Kelsey added: “Just because it is a BDC application they do not get off lightly.

“We give them the same treatment as anyone else.”

A BDC spokesman said that options for the scheme’s future were being “evaluated”.

“We are disappointed that the planning board made their decision in contradiction of their own case officer’s recommendation to approve,” they said.

“Indeed, the board chairman openly stated they were going against planning policy in choosing to refuse the application.

“We submitted a fully policy-compliant scheme that was intended to benefit Bournemouth and bring more residents into the town centre to contribute to the town centre economy all year round.

“The BDC board will evaluate our options thoroughly before agreeing next steps.”