NEW plans for 400 flats, a large car park, shops and restaurants have been submitted for the former site of the Winter Gardens.

Cabinet members will today discuss the £102m scheme, put forward by the 50/50 private/public partnership between Bournemouth council and Morgan Sindall Investments - the Bournemouth Development Company.

It includes up to 400 high-end one, two and three-bed apartments and penthouses - with associated parking - as well as a public 400-space car park at the 1.86 hectare site, stores and eateries and public space improvements.

There is already a developer - Inland Homes Ltd - with planning permission to develop the site, but the BDC application suggests using Inland Homes as a "minority partner" or offering them an alternative council site.

Cllr John Beesley, leader of Bournemouth council, said: "As a key town centre location there is need for a comprehensive redevelopment of the Winter Gardens site.

"By providing high-quality accommodation we can offer a more attractive choice to owner occupiers and first-time buyers to encourage more people to live in the town centre. This will ultimately boost the local economy, provide new jobs and attract further investment to Bournemouth."

If members approve the scheme's first-stage, a detailed planning application will be submitted during 2016 with a possible start on site the following year.

The current surface car park dates from 2006 when the Winter Gardens venue was demolished having been closed four years earlier.

It was built in 1937, originally as an indoor bowling centre, and developed into a concert hall in 1946 because of its good acoustics.

Over 25,000 people signed a petition in 2001 to save it, with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra giving its last concert there in 2002.

The new proposal is one of several projects that make up the long-term Town Centre Vision - which aims to redevelop council-owned land assets in the town.

Development director Duncan Johnston said: "The Winter Gardens car park is a strategic site that has been waiting many years for redevelopment. We're really excited to be bringing these proposals forward. Our scheme has the potential to lift the quality of the urban environment, provide quality homes for people, support the town centre economy and bring more life to the area."

In the last two years, the partnership has delivered the £12.5m residential-led Citrus Building at Horseshoe Common, the award-winning £23m student accommodation at Madeira Road for Arts University Bournemouth and the £4m Madeira Road multi-storey public car park overlooking Wessex Way.

A spokesman for Inland Homes said they are not pulling out of the scheme and ‘their interest remains the same’.