PLANS that would see a public car park on Bournemouth’s West Cliff turned over to 80 apartments will go before senior councillors today.

The proposals for Durley Road are the latest from the Bourne-mouth Development Company, which is a joint venture between Bournemouth Borough Council and Morgan Sindall Investments.

The Durley Road car park scheme is the latest plan that would see a car park trans-formed, following the Madeira Road and Leyton Mount developments.

According to the report that will go before the council’s cabinet today, there are 112 spaces at Durley Road, which brings in £58,000 of parking revenue each year.

But it says that the car park is underused and demand can be soaked up by nearby alternatives.

The scheme of 50-80 units is projected to make a profit of at least £3.2million depending on which option is chosen.

Part of the Town Centre Vision, the proposals include an apart-ment block for open market sale, which will be made up of one, two and three-bed apart-ments, and residents’ car parking.

The council said that the development would predom-inantly target first-time buyers and other owner-occupiers.

Two different schemes have been prepared by the Bournemouth Development Company – one for a low-rise development, which utilises the majority of the site, and one for a slender high-rise development.

If the Durley Road Site Development Plan is approved today then the decision will be reached as to which scheme is most suitable for the site after the pre-planning consultation process, the council said.

Council leader, Cllr John Beesley, said: “The proposals for the Durley Road development will help to maximise the town’s economic potential and unlock further investment in Bourne-mouth.

“Our Town Centre Vision is about strengthening our competitiveness as a town to live and work in and instilling pride through great architecture and the creation of a quality built environment.

“We want to build high quality homes that meet the high expect-ations of prospective buyers in the current market. This will help attract more residents to the town centre, drive demand for new jobs, increase retail spend and accelerate regeneration.”

If the plan is rubber-stamped today, a planning application is likely to be submitted next summer.