Millionaire Sandbanks locals back at war with developers
Millionaire Sandbanks locals are back at war with developers wanting to flatten historic hotel and build luxury flats… one year after plans were rejected
- EXCLUSIVE: Furious locals of the UK’s richest postcode are fighting developers
- Plans to build luxury flats on the site of a historic hotel have divided the area
Ultra-rich residents of the UK’s most expensive postcode are fighting ambitious plans by a developer to transform three historic hotels into ‘world class’ luxury hotel and apartment £250million development – as they fear it will shut out holidaymakers and locals.
The wealthy inhabitants of Sandbanks, Poole – where the average home sells for £1.4million – have been fighting the plans submitted by the Fortitudo development group since 2017 and celebrated last year when plans were rejected on flood risk grounds.
But this victory was short lived with developer Richard Carr’s Fortitudo submitting almost identical proposals in May this year – with the buildings at risk from flooding now elevated.
The three hotels at the centre of the battle are The Haven, The Sandbanks Hotel, Harbour Heights and the Haven – a popular seafront hotel with a public bar overlooking Old Harry’s Rocks.
However this would be demolished under the developers plans which have identified the Haven Hotel as a site for three blocks of luxury flats comprising 119 residential apartments.
The Haven Hotel on the end of the Sandbanks peninsula which could be turned into luxury flats
The Sandbanks Hotel would become a new 171-bedroom luxury hote under the plans
Meanwhile Harbour Heights would become a brand new luxury 38-suite ‘aparthotel’
Locals have fiercely contested the proposals as they fear they will take away community assets
Elsewhere in the plans, The Sandbanks Hotel would become a new 171-bedroom luxury hotel, and the Harbour Heights a 38-suite ‘aparthotel’.
Over 6,000 letters of objection were submitted and a campaign group with over 600 members formed to block original proposals for the £250m development.
Developers wanted to bulldoze the 143-year-old Haven Hotel and replace it with a six-storey block of 119 luxury flats.
Objectors said this would have made the exclusive peninsula in Poole, Dorset, resemble the Spanish resort of Benidorm.
In their findings last July, the Environment Agency said there was insufficient protection to the buildings from ‘storm surges’ given that sea levels could rise by 9ft in the next 100 years.
They said only a 27ft tall concrete wall, which had been compared in appearance to a Stalag, would stop flooding.
The developers proposed a hydraulic wall which would rise at times of flooding but this was deemed insufficient.
A year on, the developers have submitted new plans which they say ‘resolves all the issues’ raised by the Environment Agency.
Under the new proposals, the buildings will stay the same height, but the ground floors will be elevated by 12ft.
An artistic representation of how the newly designed Sandbanks Hotel will look
An artistic representation of how the aparthotel at Harbour Heights will look
An artistic representation of how the new apartments on the site of the Haven Hotel will look
To achieve this, the architects are adjusting the floor-to-ceiling ratios.
As with the original plans, the nearby Sandbanks Hotel would be redeveloped as a new five star 185-bedroom hotel, with the Harbour Heights hotel becoming a 38-apartment hotel and spa.
Richard Carr, who is submitting the plans on behalf of FJB Hotels, said they have spent £40,000 on a report which they believe shows a sea wall will not be needed due to the elevated ground floors.
He said the new development would ‘drive a huge amount of investment’ to the region.
He said: ‘We have spent an enormous amount of money on the report and we would like to think that we have solved the problem.
‘This will be a great thing for Bournemouth and Poole because there will be a huge amount of investment coming in.
‘Clearly there are a great many number of benefits for the area should this get approved because not only is it going to give the BCP area new world-class hotels, it’s going to provide a substantial amount of employment and be better for the environment because they will use less energy – it ticks an enormous amount of boxes.
‘I’m not going to count my chickens before they hatch, but at the end of the day we’ve done everything we can to ensure it has the best possible chance of being approved.
‘We can’t do any more other than put our best foot forward.’
However, the Sandbanks Community Group, which has over 600 members, remains opposed to the loss of the Haven Hotel.
They say they will be unveiling alternative plans for the site in September with a multi-million pound community funded project thought to include a hotel and retail area.
Norman Allenby-Smith is chairman of the Sandbanks Community Group and fiercely opposes the plans
Mr Allenby-Smith has urged the council to consider other plans for the site
Chairman Norman Allenby-Smith said: ‘On behalf of the Sandbanks Community Group, we remain disappointed by the existing plans for the Haven Hotel redevelopment.
‘We therefore continue to oppose them.
‘Fortunately, there is a better alternative for residents and visitors alike.
‘This can be achieved by everyone working constructively together.
‘A better alternative scheme must open up access to the site for the benefit of residents and visitors, resulting in a significant increase in the public realm and public activities.
‘We must utilise a once in a lifetime opportunity to landmark the approach to Poole Harbour from the sea and provide a focal point for all in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area.
‘We are working towards a public exhibition of our alternative scheme in September when more will be revealed.’
He added that residents in the campaign group were not ‘NIMBYS’ and wanted Sandbanks to become ‘a more attractive place to visit’.
The Haven Hotel was built in 1880 and is where engineer Guglielmo Marconi established the world’s first wireless communications.
Sandbanks, which is made up of about 800 households, has several famous residents including former football managers Harry Redknapp and Graeme Souness and computer magnate Sir Peter Ogden.
Alan Lester told MailOnline the developments were ‘completely out of character with the area’
Some locals have compared the ‘soulless’ block of flats to the Spanish resort of Benidorm
Liz Lidster says she’s been staying in the hotel for over 30 years and would hate to see it torn down
Alan Lester, 64, a retired barrister who has lived on Sandbanks for 23 years, also opposes the plans.
He said: ‘The key is to recognise this is the entrance to a beautiful harbour and the Jurassic Coast.
‘It is magnificent and unique and grand, and therefore if there has to be a development it needs to reflect the character and history of the location, so it should be iconic.
‘This (Haven) proposal is completely out of character with the area – it might be fine in an inland location but this is an iconic spot and it would not look right.
‘If the hotel is replaced by luxury flats it (the waterfront location) will be a gated community and gone forever to the public.’
Other critics have previously compared the plans to ‘a soulless’ block of flats in the Spanish resort of Benidorm.
Holidaymaker Liz Lidster, 61, who came down to Sandbanks from Oxfordshire, said it would be a ‘shame’ to see the Haven Hotel go.
The housekeeper said she first stayed there with her children 30 years ago and it holds ‘lots of happy memories’.
She said: ‘I’m quite sad about it because I love the Art Deco style building and this place has happy memories for my family and I.
‘We’ve had many family holidays here and it is a hotel of historic interest so it would be a shame to lose it, and the public access to the seafront.’
Pensioners John and Ruth Smith, who were sat on a bench at the harbour entrance, said the plans ‘should be scrapped’.
They said: ‘It (the luxury flats) would just be for the rich and famous, not the public.
‘We’ve been coming to this spot for 70 years but we would not be allowed to anymore.’
Alan Clarke believes that the developments may end up bringing him more customers
The future of the Haven Hotel remains up in the air after years of development hell
Lynn Butler, a school supervisor from Northampton, said the luxury flats were ‘not necessary’ and she did not understand why the hotel had to be demolished.
However, Alan Clarke, 63, who owns the adjoining Haven Ferry Shop, said he sympathised with both sides of the debate.
He said he understood why locals are ‘up in arms’ about the proposals but that he had been told the hotel is in such a dilapidated condition it may need ‘pulling down’.
He said: ‘The proposals will not harm the business – in fact the flats may improve footfall.
‘I understand why the locals are up in arms about it but if the hotel is in the condition people say it is something will need to happen.
‘The owners say that it needs pulling down but ideally they will replace it with another hotel.
‘A compromise needs to be reached.’
MailOnline has approached Poole Council for a comment.
Source: Read Full Article