MP fears Hengistbury Head Centre could be turned into beach hut site (From Thisisdorset)

MP fears Hengistbury Head Centre could be turned into beach hut site

8:30am Tuesday 21st July 2009 in

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COULD the Hengistbury Head Centre be bought and turned into luxury beach huts?

That’s the worst case scenario raised by Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood, who wants a firm guarantee that whomever takes over the centre will be required to provide watersports from the site.

Mr Ellwood spoke out after visiting the centre and meeting directors of the Hengistbury Centre Community Interest Company, one of the bidders hoping to run the facility.

He said: “I’m about to write to the council asking for an explanation as to why there isn’t a guarantee that the successful bidder has a requirement to continue sailing, aquatics and other sporting activities at Hengistbury Head. My worry is, the way I read the document, the entire centre could be purchased and turned into upmarket beach huts.

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“I don’t think that’s in the interests of anybody in Bournemouth, and how would that look in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympics, when Dorset is hosting the aquatics, and we shut the only watersports centre in Bournemouth?”

His comments come ahead of tomorrow’s key scrutiny meeting to consider whether the current tender process is “flawed”. East Southbourne and Tuckton Cllr Eddie Coope sparked the discussion with claims that the process appears to discriminate against community bids.

Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin, leader of Bournemouth Borough Council, said the council was looking for something that offered real community benefits but also “stood on its own two feet” financially.

“When people come forward with their proposals and bids they’ve got to be backed up with a very sound business case,” he said.

When asked about the possibility of beach huts on the site, he said: “I’ve never heard that suggestion before. That wouldn’t offer the community benefits we’re looking for.”