Chapel Gate sale to BU is finalised

The purchase of the site, near Bournemouth Airport, has been completed despite initial concerns from some of its users.

The 69-acre site, near Bournemouth International Airport, is currently home to eight different sports clubs and is used by thousands of people from within the local community every week.

When the proposed sale was first announced, Bournemouth Rugby voiced fears that it could leave them with no guarantees for the future and put their club “at risk.”

But the then-owners, Bournemouth and District Recreational Charity, reassured them and said they will be allowed to stay after the sale for at least 35 years.

Chapel Gate houses a wide range of sporting facilities and fields for sports such as football, rugby, cricket, hockey and squash. The site will continue to be used as a community facility and the site will be managed by BU Community Business Ltd (BUCB) which has been set up to ensure community and university activities continue to thrive.

The university has been a user of the site for a number of years, with university clubs and teams training and playing on the site. The purchase of the site will allow the university to create deeper links with the community and further develop a sports community around the area, as well as providing a continuing space for staff and students to use.

Jim Andrews, Chief Operating Officer at Bournemouth University, and Chair of BUCB, said, “We are delighted to have completed the purchase of the Chapel Gate site and we would like to thank Bournemouth and District Recreational Charity, and the existing users of the site, for working with us while this process has taken place.”

“We look forward to building on the tradition of the multi-sport facilities for community and student sport that has been developed over many years and we will be investing in making improvements to benefit the site for all users in the years ahead.”

Bookings for the Chapel Gate site can continue to be made at chapel-gate.co.uk