NEW homes are being snapped up on a £100 million Poole town centre development.

The first day that 39 new properties were released for sale at Poole Quarter, nine flats were immediately purchased.

"I'm pleased because the locals have bought into it," said John Taylor, sales and marketing director, Crest Nicholson, which is developing the former Pitwines gasworks site.

Now grandly named Poole Quarter, over the next four-and-a-half years the long-derelict 11.73-acre site will be transformed into a flagship scheme of 512 homes.

"If we are going to do something of this magnitude we want the local people to embrace it and invest in it," said Mr Taylor.

The one and two-bed flats cost £159,950 and the homes in the first phase range up to three and four bedroom townhouses costing up to £350,000.

Work began clearing contamination from the land on the gateway site into Poole a year ago and the development will range from three-storey homes to a 10-storey landmark tower near Seldown Bridge, with penthouses and stunning views.

The development is likely to provide a community of 1,500 to 2,000 people, living just off the harbour and within walking distance of the town centre.

With no garages, car parking is limited to one space per home with 10 per cent visitor parking and a Travel Plan, the first for Poole and for Crest Nicholson, includes £100 in vouchers for every household.

A total of 186 homes will be made more affordable by a mix of part-ownership and rented with 45 sheltered care homes.

"More people living closer to the town centre makes sense," said Graham Shaw, head of marketing and tourism for the Borough of Poole.

"It's good for the vitality of the town centre."

John Callcutt, chief executive of Crest Nicholson, said: "Poole Quarter is a flagship development in which we have combined urban regeneration practices with contemporary design principles to transform a site, neglected for many years.

"With apartments and penthouses, townhouses and affordable homes - ideal for shared equity purchasers or key workers such as nurses and police officers - Poole Quarter provides an opportunity for people on most budgets to live the dream."

A sales office is now open on the site and the first residents are expected to move in this July.

First published: February 7