I FEEL that I must respond to latest anonymous letter demanding that the IMAX building should be saved (Letters, May16). From the extensive consultation the council has done, I do not believe that is the view of the majority of Bournemouth residents.

Bournemouth Council has achieved all-party support for the demolition of the building, strongly endorsed by the majority of local residents who want to see the end of it.

Most councillors (including John Beesley who is unfairly criticised in the latest letter) were not on the council at the time that the developers obtained consent for the building and it is only as a result of the council purchasing it that it can now be demolished.

There was no appetite from the private sector for viable alternative uses when the previous offer was made and I doubt that there would be any today – certainly the council has received none to date.

Criticising the leader of the council for getting on and dealing with this difficult issue doesn’t help. It was always going to cost a lot to deal with the building and if the council had left it to the private sector it would have probably failed.

On the other hand, the council could easily sell the building back to the private sector to do as your correspondent suggests.

I am sure that if he knew who to contact, Cllr Beesley would be happy to talk to your correspondent in a constructive way and fully explain the background to the decision. However, residents were clamouring for years for the Council to ‘do something about the IMAX’ and now it has. Sometimes you just can’t win!

CLLR CHRIS WAKEFIELD, Boscombe West Ward, Bournemouth Council