A HOUSING association has resubmitted plans to demolish its Bournemouth offices to build a block of ‘stepping stone’ flats for people who have been homeless in its place.

Bournemouth Churches Housing Association’s (BCHA) 24-flat plan for St Swithun’s House was rejected by the council in August over concerns about the size of the new building and lack of parking.

A new application has now been put forward for the site on the corner of Christchurch Road and Gervis Road in a bid to address the reasons for refusal.

Refusing BCHA’s original application in August, planning officers said that the scheme was too bulky and tall for its position as a “gateway” to the East Cliff conservation area.

As a result, its new scheme has scaled-back its proposal for the site to 19  flats, reducing the new building’s height by a storey to three floors.

The units, most of which are one-bedroom would be made available for social rent.

Concerns had also been raised by the council about the lack of any parking spaces in the original plans.

And despite BCHA’s claims that none of the residents would have a vehicle, its revised scheme includes 20 parking spaces as well as a bike store.

The existing Victorian villa is used by the organisation, which manages affordable housing across the region, as its headquarters and its plans include the retention of some office space in the new building.

A planning statement submitted with the application says that the flats are aimed at helping people move away from supported accommodation.

“As a housing association, BCHA’s work goes beyond simply providing social rented housing,” it says.

“It also provides specialist forms of accommodation with varying levels of support to assist people out of homelessness and where they need support to get back on their feet.

“While the proposal is designed to provide versatile ‘general needs’ housing, it is intended that it will be made available primarily to working people on low incomes and to provide a form of stepping stone accommodation, allowing residents to move on from supported forms of housing and live independently.”

The application will be considered by the council in the coming weeks.