A PROJECT to redevelop Ferndown's Barrington Centre has been launched.

The proposal, to refurbish and extend the Barrington Centre Cafe, is one of the projects to come from the Ferndown Town Centre Strategy, which is a partnership led jointly by Ferndown Town Counci (FTC) and East Dorset District Council (EDDC).

Pramacare, the current leaseholders of the centre are also involved in the scheme.

FTC Cllr Mike Parkes said: "The Barrington Centre is at the heart of the community and as one of the occupants of the building the town council can see the great potential of the site, which this project will help to bring forward."

As well as extensions to the café, the proposals also include relocating the toilets in Pennys Walk and opening up the paved area to enable more community activities to take place there.

A steering group is now in place to oversea the project, and detailed plans will be formulated with a view to awarding contracts for the works in March 2019.

The public will have the opportunity to view the proposals later this summer.

Cllr Mike Dyer, economy portfolio holder at EDDC, said: "The improvements to the Barrington Centre are the first step in delivering the many improvements outlined in the Town Centre Strategy and we are hopeful that this will be a catalyst for the future.

"The public were hugely supportive of the strategy, when we carried out consultation on the proposals, and we need to make some visible progress."

Meanwhile, Pramacare chief executive Steve Robinson said: "We love the Barrington and, after a successful year, Prama is excited to be involved in this project which will directly benefit so many across Ferndown.

"We are delighted to have been invited to build on the existing strong partnerships forged when the centre faced closure in 2017 and to work with the councils to see these proposed improvements come to life."