Poole In Excess site plans for flats and shops approved

The development will include a private courtyard and bicycle parking but no space for cars.

The application had attracted objections from residents, the Society for Poole and the BCP’s highways team.

Many residents said they were worried about extra pressure on parking in the area and an overall reduction in shopping space.

In Excess Ashley Road designs

The proposed redevelopment comes from Salisbury-based In-Excess UK Ltd which currently has a shop there.

The company say the Upper Parkstone site, at the junction of Jubilee Road and Ashley Road, can accommodate twenty 1-bed flats and seven 2-bed over four storeys with two commercial units of 80 sq metres and 54 sq metres, on the Ashley Road frontage, although the two units could be amalgamated into one. Deliveries will be off Jubilee Road.

Ward councillor Marion Le Poidevin said she objected to the lack of parking but had to accept it was supported by council policy, but said she was sad if In Excess were to close: “It’s a very popular shop, very well used. In the lockdown it had queues outside of it almost every day.”

She said she welcomed the proposal which would tidy up the corner site, which, above the shop, she described as “a mess and very shabby”.

Proposing approval Cllr Tony O’Neill told the BCP planning committee: “This design improves the character of the street which deserves improvement and I hope it sets a trend.”

A Library Road resident had written to support the change: “Ashley Road is a bustling high street…However we have seen rapid decline. It is in much need of improvement to rejuvenates shops and aesthetics of the area. It could be a Little Westbourne encouraging people to visit.”

In-Excess say the proposal is designed to fit in with surrounding buildings and although offering no parking spaces does allow for more than 30 cycle spaces.

Resident’s objections said that people living in the area already struggle to find parking without the extra homes. Others raised concerns about the noise and disturbance from the demolition and construction of the new building and the size and scale of the new block: “Although the artist impression looks acceptable Upper Parkstone is a well-established residential area and such a large development in such a small space is out of context,” said one objector.

An objection was also lodged by the Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society which said that rare tiles made in Poole in the 1950s and 60s by Carter and Co on the entrance may be at risk because of the development.

But Thursday’s planning committee heard that the developers had promised to preserve the tiles and put them on the front of the building for all to see.