I WAS travelling on the No. 50 Morebus to Swanage the other day and I sat chatting to a lovely couple who informed me about FJB group owners of the three hotels in Sandbanks wanting to demolish the Haven Hotel and replace it with exclusive flats, because there was subsidence.

By demolishing the Haven they could reconstruct Sandbanks Hotel and Harbour Heights.

I was very shocked to be honest because I thought Haven Hotel would be a listed building because of its tremendous history.

It was built in 1887 and means so much to the community and the generations who have lived in Sandbanks and Poole.

In 1896 Gugilemo Marconi arrived in England with his invention of the ‘wireless telegraphy’ which was very popular.

Over a period he stayed in Haven Hotel where he sent the very first wireless message across the globe in an instant, although it took three weeks for a letter to arrive by post to say they had received the transmission.

I also found out that there were transmitting stations in Bournemouth and Swanage.

Haven Hotel has had visitors such as Spanish Royalty, poet Robert Browning, even Real Madrid the famous Spanish football team, and Prime Minster John Major.

In the Second World War it housed American servicemen and linked with the navy, When Poole housed the famous flying boats, members of BOAC stayed there too.

When you think about it the block of exclusive flats will not blend in with Sandbanks, and if there is subsidence why would you want to build flats there anyway?

Haven Hotel is very popular and has visitors from all over the world so rather then demolish it why not try and save it?

They could always have a gym and a bigger swimming pool open to the public and have other attractions to raise finances.

It has so much natural beauty and their family beaches have been given the blue fag prestigious award for thirty years.

Many people go with their cars and and park outside the Haven Hotel looking at the wonderful views over to Studland and beyond.

We often took our aunty, 104, for a coffee to see the views, pre-Covid.

We need to save our heritage and send our objections to the BCP panning department to try and stop this and back the Sandbanks Community Group who are very much against it and doing a lot of hard work for their community.

ELAINE GLOVER

Tree Hamlets, Poole