Bournemouth hotel tender process scrapped by council

The council said it could consider moving the BIC elsewhere

The tender process for a hotel next to Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) has been scrapped in favour of a larger development involving the venue.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) had inherited the scheme, which was ready to go out to tender, from the former Bournemouth Borough Council.

Councillors agreed instead to allocate £170,000 for a feasibility study for a larger scheme involving the BIC site.

Opposition councillors called the decision "short-sighted".

A report to BCP Council had recommended scrapping the hotel plan for the site in Priory Road, which had been acquired by the former borough council.

Cabinet members voted unanimously to abandon the procurement process at a meeting on Friday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Regeneration councillor Mark Howell said it "made absolute sense" for the council to consider options for the BIC including "a small refurbishment to moving it somewhere else".

The Priory Road site was acquired by Bournemouth Borough Council and inherited by BCP Council