THE planning application for Poole's biggest regeneration site has been withdrawn.

More than three years after it was submitted, with it never having gone before a planning committee, Gallaghers have pulled their application for up to 1,350 homes on the mixed use former power station site at Hamworthy.

In a letter to Borough of Poole, Richard Shaw, director of Savills, on behalf of Gallagher Estates and Lands Improvement Holdings, says the scheme is "unviable" and they are "reluctantly withdrawing the application", which has cost them £21,785 in planning application fees.

Ann Smeaton of Hamside Residents Association said the development had been "dead" for so long, she was not surprised. "I would love to see that land developed. I would like to see two tall buildings on that site in homage to the power station."

Payment for the Twin Sails Bridge, fulfilling its housing requirements and completion of the port link road is dependent on the long-awaited development of the vacant 32-acre site.

The land has been derelict since the power station was demolished in the early 1990s.

A 150,000 ton concrete cap which supported the turbine and boiler house and chimneys would cost millions to remove and fears have been raised that this could make it too costly to develop.

The proposal which included a new public quay, food store, care home, retail and commercial units, was developed over 10 years of public engagement with local residents.

Mr Shaw said he understood the council was likely to take the application to committee with a recommendation to refuse on the grounds of scale and massing, building height, inadequate parking provision, unviability and inability to deliver planning contributions, unresolved traffic issues and the overall mix of development.

They hoped to resolve these matters, make scheme changes to produce a deliverable proposal and start pre-application talks for a new scheme within the next 12 months, he said.

Kate Ryan, strategic director, Borough of Poole, said: “Although disappointing, we were aware the developers were going to withdraw this planning application and we have been working closely with them to facilitate a revised scheme in the future. "The developer has invested a significant amount of money into this proposal and most of this work will be reused in a subsequent scheme."

The site was awarded Housing Zone status through a government scheme to unlock brownfield land but this will not be affected says the council, "as the developers are still intending to develop the site".