KEY stakeholders and members of the community are set to be invited to a workshop to consider the future use of a large development site in Bournemouth.

BCP Council's urban regeneration company will hold a 'design charrette' consultation method to discuss ideas for the Wessex Fields site.

The local authority now owns around nine-acres of the site, which sits between the A338 Spur Road and Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

As reported, the council sold five acres to University Hospitals Dorset (UHD), with the NHS trust using it to expand its facilities as part of its ongoing major redevelopment.

A spokeswoman for BCP Council said the authority "remains committed to progressing" the delivery of a wider masterplan in collaboration with UHD and Bournemouth University.

This would include the deliver of employment uses supporting educational and research facilities medical sciences and technologies, as well as key worker housing on this site.

FuturePlaces, the council's recently created urban regeneration company, has been tasked with assessing Wessex Fields along with 14 other sites in the conurbation in terms of potential regeneration opportunities.

James Croker, FuturePlaces corporate engagement director, said: “We are committed to delivering development that is of the highest quality that respects and recognises the value of a place and its local communities. Creating a place with people at the heart is at the centre of what we do and we are keen to engage with local people and stakeholders through a variety of consultation and engagement techniques.

“Our approach to design and development really does set us apart from what has previously been done with regards to community consultation as we plan to go a lot further than the more traditional techniques which people are used to seeing from developers.

"For example later this year we will put in place a design charrette for Wessex Fields which will give stakeholder groups the opportunity to work with our specialist teams through a design based consultation method, meaning local people really will be at the heart of any future scheme that is considered.”

The council spokeswoman said a design charrette is a planning tool used to bring together architects and urban planners, local authority representatives, landowners, the local community, voluntary groups, retailers and other interest groups to focus on what they want to see built on a particular site.

It is run as a dedicated workshop over a set period of time which sees all these stakeholders actively engaged in the planning and design of a site, helping to build a collective enthusiasm for the vision to be taken forward beyond the workshop, they added.

Details on when the workshop would take place are not currently available, the spokeswoman said.