BCP Council (Bournemouth):  Matt Annen, a director of the firm is over the moon to have just this morning received FULL planning permission for the conversion and extension of Royal London House into 2 floors of co-working/shared office space, 40 units of serviced accommodation (over 4 floors) and 2 floors on the top for hospitality/bar/restaurant/event space with a roof terrace providing panoramic views of the town and Bournemouth Bay.

The initial pre-app was submitted in August 2017, so it has been a long and hard fought road to get the consent, which was not helped by the fact the application itself took over a year to be determined (submitted in Feb 2019). It is acknowledged that the factors for consideration in particular the highways and the impact on the Grade II Listed College building opposite were perhaps more complex than a typical mixed-use town centre conversion scheme. However Pure Town Planning presented a robust case from the outset and then were able to continue to answer every question and overcome every hurdle that was put in the way in order to deliver the consent for the client.

The delays were incredibly frustrating particularly with the Council’s legal department taking over 6 months to prepare the legal agreement which was completely unacceptable. Boris and his Government may have ‘grand plans’ to get Britain building but unless this filters down to the local Council’s and they start looking at schemes with a presumption in favour of sustainable development (which seems to have been forgotten?) this simply won’t happen.

If you have a town centre commercial site and would like advice on its development potential then why not call Pure Town Planning on 01202 585524 or email info@puretownplanning.co.uk for a FREE 30 minute confidential consultation on how we can help #makeithappen for you.