MORE than £210 million worth of development on public car parks will be 'worked up' by Bournemouth Development Company (BDC) this year.

The firm, a public-private partnership between the council and Morgan Sindall Investments, is already building flats on the former Berry Court car park, having completed schemes at Madeira Road and Leyton Mount in 2014/15.

According to the BDC business plan, approved by the council's cabinet on Wednesday, "early concepts" have been prepared for a leisure/entertainment development on the Bath Road north and south car parks by the Pavilion – the Pavillion Gardens scheme – and for flats on the Eden Glen car park behind the BH2 centre.

Other car parks set to see development are St Stephen’s Road, Durley Road, a major scheme on the Winter Gardens car park, Cotlands, Central, Richmond Hill, the Town Hall Annex, Glen Fern and West Hill.

The council formed BDC in early 2011 in a bid to make cash both from developing car park sites and claiming rent from new properties.

It says more than £300m worth of investment/development has been completed in the town centre since 2013, with £80m currently in the construction phase and £200-300m in the pipeline for the next two to three years.

At the meeting, Councillor Philip Broadhead, cabinet member for economic growth, said: "The Winter Gardens is a key flagship development site and will be the largest original construction development on the south coast in a generation.

"We are continuing to keep Bournemouth on the map, and continuing the level of growth seen in the town centre.

"The town centre is a very exciting place to be and more so than 10 years ago."

He said Bournemouth has been recently voted the number one retail hotspot in the UK by Property Week, named as one of the highest growth areas in the UK in the Grant Thornton High Growth Index, as the town with the third most construction activity outside London in 2016, and as the fastest-growing digital economy in the UK.

BDC's activities form part of the borough's 20 year Town Centre Vision. By 2035, the company says, Bournemouth will be "a chic urban coastal destination where thriving leisure and retail offer a rewarding place to live and a complete visitor experience".

"The town is characterised by alfresco dining, outside performance areas and defined shopping precincts offering high street, niche and top quality boutiques," the plan says.

"All-weather attractions and a thriving events programme ensure Bournemouth is always buzzing.

"Through the vision the beach, gardens, shopping and business district are better linked as one graceful space with clear landscaping and signage.

"The Vision gives greater priority to pedestrians and cyclists and encourages use of public transport to reduce congestion."

Projects:

Madeira Road West

Student accommodation and multi-storey car park, completed and opened by October 2014

Leyton Mount, Citrus Building

Flats and a commercial unit now occupied by Turtle Bay, completed in March 2015

Berry Court

A private rented scheme of 113 flats with a multi-storey part-public car park, to be completed this summer

St Stephen's Road

Planning permission secured for 46 private rented sector flats to be fully purchased and managed by the council, work to begin this autumn

Winter Gardens

Planning permission sought for a £150m development of flats, leisure and community facilities, submitted in August

Durley Road

Previous planning application rejected last June, a new application to build 44 flats on this site has just been submitted

Bath Road

Draft plan for 'Pavilion Gardens Project' includes leisure, culture and entertainment uses to "complement the Pavilion and encourage greater footfall along Westover Road"

Eden Glen

Draft plan for flats, leisure and public parking facilities

Central

A "residential-led" scheme with "a mix of tenure types and target markets" intended to "attract aspirational buyers to the town", must have 400 parking spaces

Cotlands

Café, restaurants and public parking in "employment-led" scheme to create "high quality public realm", must have 420 parking spaces

Richmond Hill

A "beacon" scheme with commercial units, parking and a mix of "first homes", open market flats and affordable homes, must have 200 parking spaces

Town Hall Annex

Promote for residential or employment scheme if not needed for council business after Local Government Reorganisation

Glen Fern

Mixed use, possibly as park of "desirable" redevelopment of nearby multi-storey and Mercury House, must provide 398 parking spaces

West Hill

Development "for a variety of uses as long as the required amount of public car parking is provided (200 spaces)"