Welcome
AJC Group, one of the Wessex Region’s leading SME housebuilders, is bringing forward exciting plans for new family homes at land to the rear of Lansdowne House on Christchurch Road, Bournemouth.
The site has been vacant since 2020 and comprises a significant area of hardstanding and an empty aging building previously used as a bingo hall. Lansdowne House and it’s dedicated parking to the rear are not part of the proposed development.
AJC Group’s vision for the site places a deliberate focus on delivering family houses, which have seldom been delivered on other sites within Bournemouth town centre, and for which there is a pressing need as emphasised in the recent Dorset and BCP Local Housing Needs Assessment (November 2021).
As well as providing the opportunity for families to live in the Town Centre, the proposals would revitalise a vacant brownfield site and positively address security and anti-social behaviour issues current experienced on the site. The occupation of the site by future residents will also help to drive additional footfall and expenditure to the many local shops and services just a short walk from the site.
The Site
Map showing site location
The site is in a highly sustainable area of Bournemouth town centre, offering convenient access on foot to local amenities, shops, services, and public transport links, such as Lansdowne bus stop, which is served by over 10 different bus routes providing sustainable options for travel to a variety of locations further afield.
As a site located so close to town centre uses, its redevelopment will generate, through the occupation of the site by future residents, a significant uplift in local footfall and expenditure to local shops and services.
The site has been vacant since 2020 and was extensively marketed through a national commercial agent. However, despite long-term marketing, there has been no commercial interest expressed in the site for future leisure/cultural use.
BCP Council has also identified the site as an opportunity for residential use of up to 100-150 new homes in the Local Plan Issues and Options consultation in early 2022. AJC’s proposals will therefore bring the site into beneficial use and deliver the Council’s emerging aspiration for delivering residential homes on this site.
Redline plan showing site location
Aerial view of the site from Google Earth
Whats Proposed?
Proposed site plan
The proposals include 33 new family houses with private gardens and two apartment buildings providing 12 one bedroom flats, perfect for young professionals and first-time buyers.
The delivery of 45 new homes on a vacant site will make an important contribution towards Bournemouth’s housing supply at a time when new homes are drastically needed, especially in the form of family houses in the Town Centre.
The site has two existing and established vehicle accesses from Christchurch Road either side of Lansdowne House. It is proposed to utilise these existing access points for vehicular and pedestrian access and egress. The development will result in a reduction in movements to the site when compared to the historic use of the building and car parking.
While there is no requirement for any car parking given the sustainable location of the site, the proposals will include 20 surface vehicle parking spaces and 12 of the properties will include garages. All homes and flats will have access to cycle storage to encourage the use of bicycles.
The layout of the proposed development has evolved to prioritise gardens and landscaping adjacent to the site boundaries and existing neighbouring residential properties.
All proposed homes are orientated to face inwards, ensuring minimal impact to the amenity of existing neighbours. The proposed design and layout has also taken into account the possible redevelopment of the adjacent college site to the west, for which planning permission is being sought by a separate party.
Benefits
The redevelopment of this vacant site will provide a wide range of benefits, including:
- As a site located so close to town centre uses, its redevelopment will generate, through the occupation of the site by future residents, a significant uplift in local footfall and expenditure to local shops and services.
- The redevelopment will greatly transform the visual appearance and safety of the site, which unfortunately currently attracts antisocial behaviour given the lack of natural surveillance and lighting and its long-term status as a vacant building. AJC’s proposal therefore presents an opportunity to positively regenerate the site, removing much of the opportunity for antisocial behaviour on the site itself and introducing natural surveillance and activity providing a security benefit for the surrounding area.
- Given the site is currently dominated by hardstanding, it provides little to no biodiversity value. The redevelopment is therefore a significant opportunity to substantially increase green space and landscaping on the site, with 33 private gardens and a variety of native street trees and hedges proposed in communal areas, leading to improved biodiversity and habitat gain across the site.
- Future residents of the site will benefit from homes built to the latest energy efficiency standards energy, providing a reduced cost of running and heating their new home. The new homes on the site will be powered through a combination of either Air source Heat Pumps or Ground Source Heat Pumps, with the development meeting the latest high standards of Part L building regulations for renewable energy and carbon reduction.
- The redevelopment of the site will also deliver a significant one-time economic boost during construction creating a variety of jobs for local contractors and tradespeople for a period of 18 months.