WORK has begun to protect a green space in Boscombe regularly used by residents, which is set to go up for sale at auction.

Ward councillor for Boscombe East and Pokesdown, Andy Jones, and BCP Council's deputy leader, Philip Broadhead, have been working together in a bid to retain the green; which is located on the corner of Roseberry Road and Christchurch Road.

Councillor Jones said: “When this situation arose I immediately worked with the senior team at the council to see what could be done to ensure we can try and protect this space into the future.

“We explored the possibility of whether the council could buy the site ourselves and had conversations with the owner to that effect.”

Since then the councillors have been working with the community to apply to have the space designated as an asset of community value (AVC), which is to be looked at by the authority.

“This designation, which is now being considered by the council’s legal department, would give strong protections should any future owner wish to try and develop the site,” added Cllr Jones.

The AVC would recognise the land as of importance to the community and subject the site to additional protection from future development.

The privately owned green is set to go on sale on September 14, alongside a portfolio of other pieces of land.

Philip Broadhead has been working alongside his council colleague in a bid to keep the site as it is.

The deputy-leader said: “I’m really thankful to Andy for bringing this to the fore so quickly and strongly, and we’ve been working closely on this with the team for over a month now.

“The ACV will give strong protections if approved, however, further to that I’ve had good conversations with the planning department who confirm that we’ve had no interest in the site as a development opportunity and indeed they would struggle to see this being possible in the future.”

Cllr Broadhead paid tribute to Cllr Jones' work and said “there could have been a lot of concern from the local residents,” had the land been sold privately.

The deputy-leader added: “Because they got ahead of the situation and we’ve worked in a joined-up way, we’ve made real progress to ensure that this small but well used green space can hopefully remain as it is long into the future.”