Sandbanks hotels demolition plan refused

Developers want to replace Haven Hotel with three blocks of flats

Controversial plans to redevelop three hotels on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula in Dorset have been refused.

FJB Hotels and developer Fortitudo had sought to demolish Haven Hotel at Poole Harbour's entrance, along with two other hotels.

More than 6,000 people objected, mainly about proposals to replace Haven Hotel with 119 flats and a restaurant.

Councillors unanimously refused the plans amid Environment Agency concerns about the risk of flooding.

Fortitudo representatives told the committee there had been a "difference in professional opinion on the technical flood risk data".

But senior planning officer Clare McCarthy said while the scheme offered "considerable economic, social and environmental benefits" they were outweighed by the "adverse impacts" of flooding.

Haven Hotel marks the entrance of Poole Harbour

David Morley, chairman of the Sandbanks Community Group, told the meeting: "We have always accepted the existing [Haven] hotel may need replacement.

"What we can't accept is that there will never again be a hotel on that site. It's an irreplaceable community asset."

The combined application to Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council also includes replacing Sandbanks Hotel with a 171-room hotel and replacing Harbour Heights Hotel with 38 hotel apartments.

The applicants said the proceeds from the Haven development would be used to fund the two new hotel schemes.

The outline plans were first submitted to the former Borough of Poole in 2017 but have been amended several times, including a reduction in the height of the flats to six storeys.

The Save Sandbanks campaign group describes the 135-year-old Haven Hotel as a "valuable local amenity" and said building "soulless apartments" would turn the area into a "private enclave".

Haven Hotel was built in 1887 and expanded in the 1920s.

Owners FJB Hotels previously said steelwork in its south and west wing was so badly corroded that structural failure was possible.