Council agrees £150,000 for Poole's power station plan

The waterfront site is next to Twin Sails Bridge in Poole Harbour

A council has allocated £150,000 to develop an acquisition strategy for a former power station site earmarked for housing 20 years ago.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council is considering buying the land at Holes Bay to build 850 homes.

Cabinet members approved the plans, including a possible compulsory purchase order, due to concerns proposals for the site had "stalled".

The land is currently owned by Lands Improvement Holdings Ltd.

Despite having submitted a planning application, a report published ahead of Friday's cabinet meeting said the firm had "confirmed" it no longer intended to continue with its scheme, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

BCP has said it "has, over many years, done everything it can to support the landowners in developing this site".

It now wants to push forward the development, next to the Twin Sails Bridge.

The power station, which once stood on the shore of Holes Bay, was demolished in 1992

BCP's predecessor council, Borough of Poole, first designated the site - the largest brownfield area in the conurbation - for housing more than 20 years ago.

The land is designated a Government Housing Zone and has been allocated £5m of Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (DLEP) funding for infrastructure.

Councillor Mark Howell said this was a "great opportunity" to provide a development that was "much better for the community".

"The current application has stalled. We can now look at this again and try and get things moving.

"We have been contacted by the managing director of Lands Improvement Holdings who said they were still very interested in delivering housing."

He said the landowners intended to work with the council to move plans for the site forward.