East Cliff Development

Feria Urbanism was commissioned by Meyrick Estate Management Ltd to examine the redevelopment potential of a site currently occupied by three hotels. These are the Bay View Hotel, the Cottonwood Hotel, and the Ocean View Hotel, situated side by side on the East Cliff, approximately midway between Bournemouth and Boscombe.

The purpose of the work was to stimulate debate about role of both the site and the wider neighbourhood area, both now and into the future; to understand the site factors, both immediate and further afield, that can inform a set of design principles to guide redevelopment and to assess how planning policy will inform the options for redevelopment.

Our report also explored how different land use mixes can create a destination and a positive focal point along the East Cliff part of the town and to provide an alternative point of view to other parties that may have ideas for the redevelopment of the site.

Our report looked at the urban context, including the local planning policy context, assessed how the site can become part of a series of connected neighbourhoods and set a series of urban design principles. It also provided an architectural response to the site, including its redevelopment potential, a demolition and retention strategy, issues of continuity and enclosure and how to preserve the cliff-top character.