Oakdale Adult Education Centre site

Thank you for your contributions. The council is currently reviewing its options and further details will be shared in due course

In November 2020 BCP Cabinet made a decision that the Adult Education Centre (AEC) in Oakdale should be relocated to the Dolphin Centre in Poole Town Centre and that the existing Oakdale site should be used for housing development. As residents will know, we require many different types of housing to meet the future requirements for our area. BCP Council Housing Delivery Team are looking to commission architects to produce detailed designs for an extra care housing scheme on the AEC site.

Extra-care housing is a type of housing which allows people to live in self-contained homes but there is support on site to provide care for residents and support with domestic tasks and offers social and community support. It offers more support than sheltered housing but still allows you to live independently. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole currently has a limited number of extra-care housing schemes and with our aging population more of these types of homes are needed in the local area.

We believe that the Oakdale site is a great location to provide this type of home. It is close to many local shops and services including a library, GP service, hairdressers and pharmacy. We are at the very early stages of this project and would like to keep residents informed of the current plans and invite them to ask us any questions that they have at this stage. You can see an outline of the area here. We are also holding a drop in event at Oakdale library if you would like to come and ask questions.

Background information
The future of the centre has previously been discussed by the Borough of Poole because of the deteriorating condition of the AEC building. The building was no longer fit for purpose and required almost £1 million to renovate it so that it was a safe facility.

Borough of Poole (BoP)

2018 In November 2018 BoP Local Plan was formally adopted and the site was allocated for housing purposes subject to a reprovision of the Adult Education Service.

2018/19 BoP commissioned business case work to explore options for a new AE resource centre alongside housing development that would help to subsidise the cost of the new resource centre.

BCP Council

2019 The business case was reviewed by the Director Strategy Group and then referred to Change Management Board and it was agreed that the cost of a new AE resource centre wasn’t affordable and as the council’s had very recently merged, alternative sites should be looked at to relocate the service and the vacant site should be used for housing.

2020 BCP Cabinet made a decision that the Adult Education Centre (AEC) in Oakdale should be relocated to the Dolphin Centre in Poole Town Centre and that the Oakdale site should be used to deliver housing.

2022 The Covid 19 pandemic has caused significant delays on the refurbishment work required at the Dolphin Centre to accommodate the relocation however this is now almost complete, and the Adult Education services is due to become operational at the Dolphin Centre in Sept 2022.

Thank you for your contributions. The council is currently reviewing its options and further details will be shared in due course

2018 In November 2018 BoP Local Plan was formally adopted and the site was allocated for housing purposes subject to a reprovision of the Adult Education Service.

2018/19 BoP commissioned business case work to explore options for a new AE resource centre alongside housing development that would help to subsidise the cost of the new resource centre.

BCP Council

Questions

CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

Please submit any questions you have about the site or this project that have not been covered in our FAQ section and we will do our best to answer them. As mentioned above we are at the very early stages so we may not have all the answers yet, but your questions will help us know what residents are interested in and would like to know more about.
We will answer as many questions as possible on the website unless you say you would like a private response, please note that your screen name will be displayed with your question.

Whilst the green space is not included, the proposed site could.offer an opportunity to both integrate the housing proposed and benefit those who use the green space including for example toilets (e.g. changing spaces facility). How will the council ensure the space retains its important heritage and community space? Will it be knocked down and replaced with a modern (ugly) facade? The library does provide great community services/space but there are limited social spaces e.g a community cafe,which could bridge the housing community and the current community.

JoW asked over 2 years ago

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No design work has taken place yet however any proposed designs will need to include community facilities and it will take into account the locally listed aspects of the old school building and the urban environment that the site is placed within. Further engagement will take place after some design work has been carried out.
What is the point of complaining about the development of the site as the council does not seem to recognise the feelings of the people who live in the area? The locals complained about the road closures and they still went ahead with it.? I have no trust in their judgement or rhetoric that they take in the views of the people. The road closures are a prime example. When the school was closed first of all we were promised a local community center. This is now being taken away from us. The end of the field was taken away from us by the construction of the flats. The council are nibbling away the green space in the area to get more finance for the coffers by increased council tax contributions etc. Enough is enough. R FRY

R Fry asked over 2 years ago

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This proposal is going to be brought forward by the Housing Delivery Team which is separate to the Transport Services. We will forward these concerns about road closures onto Transport Services. This site was designated for residential use (housing development) subject to the reprovision of the Adult Education Centre Service in 2018. The Borough of Poole Local Plan had many opportunities for engagement and this was when all members of the community can submit their representations, or have their say, about the future use of this site. Members of the community will be able to submit their views about the detailed drawings for this site later this year and again when it is the subject of a planning application.
Why should Oakdale as a community lose vital community space and resources not to mention a historic and important building to many in the area? I believe we need to redesign the old school building as a hub, the heart of the community which could provide support for families in Oakdale. It could house a community fridge, family hubs where parents could get support, drop in centre/ social space for the elderly and vulnerable, space for tutoring for children outside of education, home schooling groups - the possibilities are endless. Oakdale is a strong community who have already suffered fe inequality caused by LTNs, there is a lot of strong feeling and objections to this proposal and loss of community space and resources, please don’t think we will be a push over as we will not.

Emma103 asked over 2 years ago

Thank you for your comment

This site was designated for residential use (housing development) subject to the reprovision of the Adult Education Centre Service in 2018. The Borough of Poole Local Plan had many opportunities for engagement and this was when all members of the community can submit their representations, or have their say, about the future use of this site. Members of the community will be able to submit their views about the detailed drawings for this site later this year and again when it is the subject of a planning application.
As a local Mum who regularly uses the park, field and library next to the old school I wouldn’t mind the idea of an extra-care facility if it was only for those who were older and needed a bit more support to be independent. However it’s clear that ‘extra-care’ isn’t just for the elderly and you state is for anyone aged 18, assessed by a social worker, that needs some extra support. My biggest concern is that that also means people who are recovering from drug and alcohol addictions, those with anti social behaviour problems etc. Whilst I understand they also need a place to receive extra support to be independent I don’t believe it should be in a place that is next to other facilities that feature as centre to our local community of Oakdale; namely the children’s park and the library. Both of which are used by young families multiple times a week. Both need to remain a safe space for all to be able to use without the worry of being unsafe with the type of residents who could be placed in very close proximity. Is it possible to make this extra care for only the elderly?

hl asked over 2 years ago

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It is intended for this extra care development to be for all persons who require care as part of residential package, however the type of care is yet to be determined but will be informed by Housing Strategies and evidence of housing need. We note the concern and will forward this onto Housing, and those determining the policy of extra care for this particular scheme.
What is the proposed height of these buildings? Who will fund the build? How will it be managed? Will it be by a private company or the council themselves? How many residencies are you proposing? How much community space will there be inside of the buildings? Will the council keep the lease on the land?

Sharon Hunt asked over 2 years ago

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We are intending to hire an Architect who will look at this particular site, and its local surroundings, to inform the height of the building. It is likely that the highest point of the building will front Wimborne Road where there are already 4 storey buildings, and the lowest point of the building will be next to the adjacent bungalows on Darby's Lane and Dorchester Road. The council currently intends to bring this site forward for the development of 50+ properties. It is verbally confirmed that the council will provide bookable community space as part of this proposal.
As a environmentalist, it is quite obvious that the people who came up with this idea of redeveloping the AEC site have ignored, denied or just not bothered with all the environmental issues that would bring this to a halt. Plus the idea of the council managing this from start to finish will be one hell of a lot of money being hemorrhaged with the phony architects and consultants and if it is built then it will continue to hemorrhage money until some corrupt private contractor takes over the administration. Once we lose this site to development, it will be lost forever. We can use this site for the benefit of the community rather then destroying it.

treadmill asked over 2 years ago

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When a planning application is submitted to the Local Authority, it needs to be accompanied by lots of assessments including ecology, transport and heritage for instance. So far, the council has undertaken a Preliminary Ecological Assessment, Bat and Reptile Survey. These surveys will be used to inform the proposal for development on this site.
How will you ensure that residents are not exposed to pollution from traffic queuing at this busy junction? There has been recent evidence of the link to dementia and as this is a proposed Extra Care site, the future residents may alrwady be more vulnerable and susceptible to the impacts of pollution than fit and healthy members of the population.

darkshadowsfalling asked over 2 years ago

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This scheme will be informed by a wide range of surveys including a transport assessment.
I do not see how relocation of a community centre, out of the community, is in keeping with it being local to Oakdale. It is not good enough that BCP feel locating it in the Dolphin Centre would be sufficient. Too many decisions in recent months are being made around Oakdale with no input from the people who live there. We are nothing but a secondary thought when decisions like this are being made. I can almost see the scenario at BCP where you just almost say ‘oh residents will have to make do’ and that is not how decisions should be made. I strongly oppose this decision and would like BCP to inform more than 1000 residents of meetings. I would also like to know how these ‘1000’ are chosen. Seeing that there are 10,400 residents in Oakdale this is less than 10% of us.

Dawn Alison asked over 2 years ago

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The Oakdale AEC site was designated for residential use subject to the reprovision of the Adult Education Centre Services elsewhere. Subsequently. a Cabinet Decision was made in 2020 for the relocation of the Oakdale AEC Service to the Dolphin Shopping Centre. The Local Plan was supported by lots of evidence including an assessment of infrastructure to support housing growth, this included transport, education, health, community and open space assessment for instance. We did advertise the Oakdale Drop-in session on social media, the Council's website and sent a letter to nearby residents.
Why on earth is this being considered with the ridiculously insufficient and inadequate infrastructure, Oakdale is becoming yet another urban mess?

Alan Wilkes asked over 2 years ago

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This site was adopted for residential use subject to the reprovision of the Oakdale Adult Education Centre in the adopted Poole Local Plan 2018. The Infrastructure Delivery Plan, which was evidence supporting the Local Plan, looked at all the new housing growth over the 15 years and the infrastructure required to support that growth which included retail shops and services, employment, transport, green space, play space, education, health and community facilities. The Poole Local Plan, and its evidence which includes the Infrastructure Delivery Plan, was examined by an Independent Inspector at the Public Local Plan Inquiry, The Local Plan, and its supporting evidence, was found 'sound' by the Inspector and the Local Plan was adopted in 2018.
What’s going to happen with the extra traffic I know you say there be no car parking spaces What about carers turning up every day to assist with the disabled and normally you have a bus that comes around and picks up residents to take him to a community centre This is all extra traffic and considering you have closed most of the roads round the area I do not think that this is a pulse of plausible place for a development There is a place on Waterloo estate Where there is some elderly shelter house in a bit like what you did up in Rossmore this would be an ideal site look forward to hearing your thoughts Dave legg

Dave legg asked over 2 years ago

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The proposal for car parking at this proposed extra care scheme will be in line with the adopted BCP Car Parking SPD (2020).