DAVE Wells Properties has submitted new plans to demolish a row of Boscombe shops and build flats – but this time without affordable housing.

The firm already has planning permission for the site on Christchurch Road between Wolverton Road and Gloucester Road. Now it has resubmitted a new application but says there will no longer be 30 per cent affordable housing, and no contribution towards highways costs.

The firm wants to build a three to four-storey blocks of 51 flats and eight shops. It said the work would help regenerate the area.

The design statement says: “The application is accompanied by a fully detailed viability assessment which demonstrates that the existing use values, plus the costs of clearing the site and construction, do not leave any residual value for affordable housing.”