SECURITY has been improved but no plans are known for abandoned park and ride land amid calls to stop “games of cat and mouse” at the site.

It could be more than one year before permanent changes are made to the former Creekmoor park and ride site just off Upton Road which has been left disused since being closed as a Covid test site in April last year.

BCP Council says it has made the site “fully secure” with new security measures to avoid trespass, with boulders and mounds of dirt also placed outside the entrances.

In June last year, it was reported that the council was aiming to discuss the future of the site as part of the Local Plan. However, this did not come to fruition.

Bournemouth Echo: Creekmoor Park and Ride in Poole when used as a Covid test site.Creekmoor Park and Ride in Poole when used as a Covid test site.

Ward councillor Judes Butt has criticised the authority’s handling of the site and expressed a desire for her residents to be able to decide what to do with the land.

She told the Echo: “The new emerging BCP Local Plan is supposed to look at all sites, private and BCP owned, to see what the best use for them is. The park and ride is included in that.

“It's been so long now and my residents have been so patient. The constant unfortunate ‘incursions’ we suffer every year and the games of cat and mouse to keep the site secure has to stop.

“I have been quite clear in challenging BCP to sort this site out once and for all, but to ensure that my residents are fully engaged by BCP Council so they have a full say on what happens in their community.”

Bournemouth Echo: Creekmoor Park and Ride site off Upton Road in Poole.Creekmoor Park and Ride site off Upton Road in Poole. (Image: Newsquest)

Cllr Butts has previously suggested the site could be used as a car boot sale site or an electric car charging station.

Providing an update, a BCP Council spokesperson said: “The Creekmoor park and ride site has been made fully secure with new gates and other security measures since it was used as a regional Covid-19 testing facility during the pandemic.

“Discussions around the short-term use of the site are ongoing and as part of the Local Transport Plan it is one of several sites provisionally identified to provide potential park and ride services for the area.

“Both the BCP Local Plan and Local Transport Plan are being updated which will include a review of the potential use of all sites. These processes will involve public consultation before any decision is made. The aim is to adopt new plans late in 2024.”