PRESS RELEASE - 13 October 2008

Bournemouth residents are being urged to have their say over proposed development of the borough before a 12-week public consultation comes to an end.

Residents have until 24 October 2008 to give their views on the proposals for the future development of Bournemouth which were announced by the government’s Secretary of State in July this year.

If the proposals go ahead, Bournemouth will have to provide 16,100 new homes which includes,1,500 on greenbelt land in the borough, to be developed between now and 2026.

Councillor Nick King, Cabinet Member for Communications said: “These figures are impractical and unrealistic and more worryingly are being imposed on us.  This is not about us saying we don’t want to build new homes but rather that we would like to be in control over how many we will build. It is important that residents in Bournemouth are made aware of the serious impact these plans will have on their local area as well as quality of life and that is why I would urge residents that it is not too late to make their views heard through the public consultation.”

Bournemouth Borough Council is opposing the proposals due to the impact that it will have on residential areas and particularly on the green belt land to the north of the borough.

Councillors have also voiced their concern over the lack of infrastructure to cope with this level of development and is demanding that the Secretary of State looks again at the proposals.

Details on how to make representations to the Secretary of State can be found on the homepage of www.bournemouth.gov.uk