CIVIC officials are set to rule on plans that would spell the loss of three prominent Bournemouth town centre surface parks.

Bournemouth council’s cabinet, which meets on Wednesday, is being asked to approve setting aside Eden Glen, Glen Fern and Richmond Hill surface car parks for redevelopment as part of the authority’s ongoing £50m a year Town Centre Vision (TCV).

A key element of the TCV, Bournemouth council says, is the development of council-owned town centre sites by the Bournemouth Development Company, which is essentially a joint venture between the council and Morgan Sindall Investments Ltd.

However, concerns have been expressed about the viability of the town centre if central car parks, particularly surface car parks, are lost.

The council’s car parking policy is to maintain of street public car park provision at around 6,400 spaces.

Driver Marcus Burt, who we caught up with as he parked at Bournemouth’s Glen Fern car park, said: “If you’ve got a van like me, you quickly find you’re limited about where you can park.

“I cannot even get into the car park at the top of Richmond Hill, the same with the one at the bottom of Richmond Hill. I can park here but it is only these open air car parks that people with bigger vehicles can park.

“Everyone is driving bigger cars now - people carriers, SUV’s. Even our other car, which is a Kia Sedona, if we have a roof rack on - which a lot of holiday makers will have - you need an open air car park.”

Bournemouth council central ward councillor Bob Chapman said he understood the principal behind any development would be the retention of the same number of car parking spaces.

Cllr Chapman added: “We must retain the number of parking spaces within the town centre. I haven’t received any reports on this so far, but I would support any scheme that retained the same number of town centre spaces.

“I noticed last night that many of the town centre car parks were busy on Wednesday night, and there were no big shows on as far as I am aware. I think the new cinema complex must be attracting more town centre parking in the evenings.”

Any new development at the three car park sites would be expected to provide parking - but whether or not this would be in the form of multi-storey, surface or underground car parks remains unclear.

Steve Watts, from Gosport, who parked at Eden Glen, said: “I lived in Bournemouth for a while in the 1980s and parking was a lot easier, I feel sorry for tourists now.

“This one is handy because it is walking distance to the centre of town, but parking seems to be a premium at every town you go to nowadays.

“Council’s charge the Earth for parking, then wonder why people don’t come into town centres.”

Another person parking at Glen Fern, who asked not to be named, told the Daily Echo: “They are killing the town.

“Bournemouth is filthy and dirty and full of empty shops. We pay our council tax, what for? I’m really angry about this.”

Public will have say on plans for surface car parks

DETAILED plans for the three surface car park sites will be drawn up by Bournemouth Development Company and put out for pubic consultation, says the council.

Bournemouth Council service director for development Roger Ball explained: “Glen Fern, Eden Glen and Richmond Hill are all sites that sit within the Bournemouth Development Company portfolio which are due to be brought forward for development in the next five years.

“It is good practice for the council to consider the use of statutory powers to appropriate sites, as we have done previously, since this will overcome restrictions that could otherwise impede their development.”

Mr Ball insists plans for all three sites will be drawn up by the Bournemouth Development Company and will be subject to the full statutory planning process and public consultation.

“The council’s car parking policy is detailed in the Town Centre Area Action Plan,” he added. “ This planning policy seeks to maintain off-street public car park provision at around 6,400 spaces but seeks to redistribute these into fewer but larger high quality car parks, with better signage to direct motorists to available spaces.

“The provision of car parking at any new development is something BDC would be expected to address through the process in terms of maintaining sufficient public parking in line with council policies and ensuring appropriate levels of parking for their own development.”