A GROUP of buildings in Sandbanks face demolition so a block of flats can be built on the site.

Bracken Developments has submitted proposals to redevelop the buildings at 9-11 Chaddesley Wood Road.

The three main residential buildings, one of which is locally listed, and three smaller storage buildings on the site would be replaced with a four-storey block of 19 flats if BCP Council approves the plans.

A basement car park area with 27 spaces and 31 bicycle storage spaces is proposed for the building, as well as 11 additional external car parking spaces.

When the proposals were first put to council planners for pre-application advice the development contained 22 flats. However, the scheme was reduced in height and mass after concerns were raised.

In a design statement accompanying the planning application BrightSpace Architects said the new scale of the proposed development was “proportionate with the local context and in-line with recent developments”.

“The overall footprint of the building is smaller and the relationship with the trees is improved. It is proposed that all trees at the periphery of the site are retained ensuring the existing sylvan character of the site is maintained.”

“High quality building materials” would be used for the development, the firm said, with “careful consideration of the local context and architectural language”.

The firm said the block of flats would not only benefit the new occupants but also “increase the value of the adjacent properties”.

No comments have been made on the planning application yet by local residents or other groups, apart from John Green, crime prevention and design advisor for Dorset Police. He is advising developers include a gated entrance for the proposed development to “deter intrusion”. “There appears to be a flight of steps acting as an emergency exit from the underground car park and, again, great care will need to be taken to ensure that this has a secure door, especially if the footpath is not gated,” he said.

The main building which currently occupies the site is locally listed but Brightspace state that works previously carried out to the property have “compromised the building’s original character, form and appearance”. “There are no architectural features of any merit or uniqueness which would warrant retention,” the firm said. A decision on the plans will be made by BCP Council soon.