PLANNING officers at BCP Council are recommending that the council’s own application to build flats on a Bournemouth car park be approved.

The council submitted plans for 11 flats on top of the Cabbage Patch car park in St Stephen’s Road earlier this year with the intention of building 11 flats – all of which would be ‘affordable’.

Members of its planning committee will consider the five-storey scheme when they meet on Thursday (October 3), with a recommendation that they approve it.

The site, next to the Wessex Way, has been used as a car park since the 1970s and most recently for council employees.

In May the council submitted its plans for the block of seven one- and four two-bedroom flats, describing the site as "an excellent opportunity" for more affordable housing in the town centre.

A planning statement submitted with the application says: “This is taller than [neighbouring] Trystworthy, however the context at the end of the road – adjacent to the Wessex Way and the cluster of five-storey buildings opposite – means that this height is considered acceptable.

“Whilst the building will be clearly visible from the Wessex Way, the proposal will not block any key views and is considered to add a point of visual interest and reference alongside the dual carriageway.”

The application was submitted by the council, not through Bournemouth Development Company – its partnership with Morgan Sindall Investments.

Nine parking spaces would be provided in an undercroft while the flats would be built with specialist acoustic glazing as a way of reducing the impact of noise from the Wessex Way.

Despite describing the outdoor space for residents as "slightly weak", council planning officer Tom Hubbard has recommended that permission be granted by councillors when they meet on Thursday.

“The proposed development would be acceptable in terms of the impact on neighbouring residents and parking design, amount and layout,” his report says.

“The proposal would not be harmful to trees and the impact of noise from the adjacent busy road on future occupants can be mitigated.

“There are some minor concerns about the design of the undercroft parking but the appearance of this has been mitigated as much as possible in the design and landscaping."

He said the development was "large" but made "effective use of an underused site".