MORE student flats could be coming to Bournemouth town centre should a planning application be successful.

Developer Beermount Ltd is looking to convert the first and second floor of Burlington Arcade, in between Old Christchurch Road and St Peter's Road, into student accommodation.

Currently, the first floor is allowed to be used for business and commercial reasons. A second floor would be constructed to link the two sections of the building together.

Both floors would come with amenity space, according to documents submitted to BCP Council earlier this week.

A design and access statement from Ellis and Partners said there would be bin and bike storage.

Bournemouth Echo:

The Burlington Arcade, like most arcades in the town centre, has seen businesses leave - including Moka Pot last summer in this case.

Opposite Richmond Gardens Shopping Centre has seen Lidl, Wilko, a jewellers and hairdressers leave in recent years.

A representative from Ellis and Partner said: "The accommodation [is] highly sustainable and high quality in design and performance in line with modern insulation, sound and daylight standards."

Burlington Arcade was sold at an auction in the summer of 2022 for an undisclosed sum. It had a guide price of £1.9m.

Current retail and hospitality occupiers include Card Factory and Esquires Coffee, as well as office accommodation with a 27-space basement car park.

This would not be the first student accommodation in Old Christchurch Road. Last year, Carve Developments won the council's approval to redevelop the old House of Fraser unit.

Bournemouth Echo: Work has begun on old House of Fraser to develop it into student accommodationWork has begun on old House of Fraser to develop it into student accommodation (Image: Daily Echo)

Work has already begun to turn it into 129 premium en-suite student bedrooms, including 10 commercial units on the ground floor.

Carve Developments hopes to get the student accommodation completed by September 2024, in time for the new academic year. The commercial units are expected to be ready  in the first quarter of 2025, according to Goadsby.

The development could see new life come into the town centre, which could prove key in its turnaround.