PLANS have been submitted for a new building at Bournemouth and Poole College, after they were met with an “overwhelmingly positive” reception at a public exhibition in January.

The application aims to replace “temporary and poor condition” buildings with a “new high-quality building and campus park”.

The new building, at the college’s Lansdowne Campus, will house teaching facilities, including a "fuselage room" modelled on a plane interior for travel and tourism teaching, a training salon and restaurant, a gym and a sports hall.

It would also create a new park, aimed to be the heart of the campus, following the demolition of buildings at the centre of the site.

Bournemouth Echo:

The college’s teaching of design and media; health, child and social care; and some foundation provision would be moved from the North Road campus to the new building.

The proposed building ranges between two and four storeys, with areas open to the public facing Christchurch Road, including the salons and restaurant.

Novian Architects has worked with the College, Meyrick Estates, BCP Council planning department, the Department For Education and contractor Kier to ensure the plans meet requirements, the college says. 

Bournemouth Echo:

It has sought to ensure the building is in keeping with local architecture, particularly the listed buildings on the site, through design and material choice.

The principal of Bournemouth and Poole College, Phil Sayles, said at the planning exhibition that the project is an “amazing opportunity for the college and area.

“We do some brilliant things on this campus, but we do them in quite old buildings,” Mr Sayles said.

Bournemouth Echo:

“We’ve had some excellent investment from the Department of Education, to sweep away some of those old buildings, keeping the best old buildings that we’ve got, what’s listed and what is amazing, and building a brand-new building which will really transform education on campus for the college, for the community, for the next 50 to 70 years.”

The planning application concludes: “These proposals present a cohesive vision for the campus and reinforce the College’s identity and high aspirations to offer outstanding teaching and public facilities in this central location of Bournemouth.”

The application has been delegated to planning officers for consideration.