A PLANNING application has been submitted to transform a vacant Salvation Army Hall in Poole into two houses.

The application, submitted by Project Solutions Southern LTD, proposes building two two-bedroom houses at 29 Sea View Road.

The statement reads: “Overall, the proposal has been designed to sit comfortably within the parameters of the existing building and site, which is large enough to accommodate two new dwellings with the associated parking.”

A previous application to convert the Salvation Army Hall into two one-bedroom flats was refused in April 2024.

Planners said the applicant had not demonstrated how the loss of the facility would not ‘result in a substantial decline in the range of facilities and services for local people’.

They added that the application had not shown that “the facility is no longer needed, and it is not feasible to support its continued existence”.

A refusal notice for the previous application said: “In addition, the development would not provide sufficient community benefit to outweigh the loss of the existing facility.”

The new application stated that “the retention of the existing building in its current form has addressed the Council’s previous concerns.”

It reads: “The building will continue to appear modest and subservient in the site and alongside the other residential properties within its context.”

A decision is yet to be made on the application.