Plans to sell off Waitrose car park in Christchurch are thrown out by council bournemouthecho.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bournemouthecho.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
PLANS to sell a public car park in Christchurch to Waitrose are to be reviewed after concerns were raised by the town’s mayor. Councillor Lesley Dedman said there was “a complete lack of transparency” over the proposed deal for the Bypass facility and for how parking provision would be protected. But the leader of BCP Council said the need to keep the supermarket chain was “imperative” to the future of the town. The council’s cabinet will be asked to approve a deal to sell the Bypass car park next week after Waitrose threatened against renewing its lease without control of it.
BCP Council has denied claims it promised hundreds of thousands of pounds to Highcliffe and Walkford Parish Council should a controversial development be approved. It had been suggested all the overage clause for the Jesmond Avenue site had been pledged to the parish council, raising concerns it could influence the decision on plans for the site. But this has been dismissed, with the council saying“no decision had been made and that the money would be spent on projects benefitting the entire conurbation. BCP Council inherited the overage clause, agreed between Dorset County Council and landowner Boyland and Son, on its creation in 2019.