Enabling works to unlock a major housing site and employment land

Holes Bay is the largest brownfield regeneration site in the South West of England, situated on the waterfront at Poole Harbour, within close proximity to Poole town centre, the commercial Port of Poole and with a neighbouring residential housing area.

• Project Status - Ongoing
• Start Date: June 2020
• End Date: March 2021
• Local Growth Fund allocation: £5,000,000
• Awarded to: BCP Council

Project Summary

Local Growth Funding has been allocated to deliver the following infrastructure works to enable the release of a major housing site in Poole, delivering 830 new homes and employment land.

This Dorset LEP funding will contribute towards the acquisition of a key strategic site, the Former Power Station Site at Holes Bay, Poole.

The scheme is expected to unlock around 830 units plus 761 sqm of new commercial floorspace on this large 16ha brownfield site adjacent to Poole Town Centre and Harbour in the Twin Sails Regeneration Area.

The site has been vacant for 25 years since the former coal fired power station was demolished in 1994. It is a nationally designated Housing Zone and has been an allocated residential-led mixed use site for a number of years.

The Holes Bay site is the largest brownfield regeneration site in the South West of England.

The ambitions to redevelop this specific site and to deliver additional housing in Dorset are priorities for the Dorset LEP.

The scheme will broadly consist of construction of a new quay wall and quayside, completion of the Port Link Road and, delivery of residential and commercial development.

Expected outputs: 

• 16 Ha of currently unused land regenerated and developed for economic use
• At least 830 homes delivered on the site and 761 sqm of retail space over 15 years - at least 10% of these to be affordable homes
• Over 40 jobs accommodated on the site

Expected outcomes: 

• At least £5 million of land value uplift
• Over £1 million of new residents’ additional annual spend per year in the local area
• Nearly £56 million of temporary GVA impact during the construction period, and more than £2.3 million of annual GVA impact thereafter

Those who benefit:

• The existing local community which sees the regeneration of an eyesore derelict site
• New residents of the development who have access to market affordable housing and public affordable housing
• The community of Dorset which experiences an uplift in the GVA of Dorset, and sees further development and regeneration stimulated by the land value uplift of the site