TALBOT QUARTER
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Talbot Quarter isn’t going to be an industrial estate.
The Innovation Quarter will include a mix of workspaces such as offices, labs, shared working hubs, and flexible buildings that can be used in different ways. The aim is to create a place that supports new businesses and jobs, especially in partnership with nearby universities and the Nuffield Health Hospital. The people working here are likely to be local graduates, researchers and healthcare professionals.
The total site covers around 25 hectares. Of that, about 10 hectares are set aside for the Innovation Quarter. But only about half of that (5 hectares) will actually be built on – including buildings, roads, parking, and paths. The rest will stay as green space.
Most of the overall site (around 80%) will stay green, including the 12-hectare Heathland Support Area planned to help protect the nearby Talbot Heath and boost biodiversity across the whole area. This includes meadows, native trees and hedgerows, small water features, and other habitats designed to support local wildlife.
So while there will be some new buildings, the majority of the space will be natural and open, with real care taken to support local wildlife and protect the landscape.
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With clarity on what we can build, we now need to formalise the detailed vision for the Innovation Park. We are committed to delivering a hub for innovation that meets the needs of growing businesses and talented individuals now and for the future. We are currently engaging with potential occupiers to populate our vision for the Innovation Quarter. This activity is part of our next steps following the approval of hybrid planning permission for this site, which was granted in July 2024.
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We have a hybrid planning consent meaning that there is full consent for the hospital and outline planning permission for the rest of the site. These were granted in July 2024. Outline planning permission grants permission for the principle of the development (the overall concept and suitability of the proposed project) but not all the specific details.
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We don’t yet have a fixed date for when construction will begin on the hospital or the Innovation Quarter. Since getting approval in July 2024, we have taken time to understand the conditions associated with our planning consent. We’ve got until July 2027 to start the development. The first priority is getting the Heathland Support Area in place. This will be followed by the rest of the scheme, likely in stages, rather than all at once.
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The land being developed is owned by the Talbot Village Trust. Until recently, it was rented out for grazing animals including cattle and sheep. But it wasn’t a working farm in the usual sense – it wasn’t covering its costs, and running it was difficult because of its small size, its location near town, and ongoing problems such as trespassing and fly tipping.
The fields that will be built on were heavily grazed, and because of that, they’ve ended up with quite low biodiversity – there’s not as much wildlife or plant variety there now that there could be. The areas where we’re planning to create the Heathland Support Area were grazed less intensively, but even those fields aren’t especially rich in wildlife at the moment, due to how the land was used in the past.
We’re committed to increasing the biodiversity. As agreed in our planning consent, we’re going to plant wildflowers, trees and hedgerows to encourage more birds, insects and other wildlife. Instead of intensive grazing, we want to manage the grassland in a more natural way similar to the way it’s done on the nearby heath – so that it becomes a much more diverse and healthier environment over time.
Nuffield Health Hospital development
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Our priority is delivering the Heathland Support Area, a major element of the consented Innovation Quarter scheme. Although we have three years to complete this activity, we’re fully committed to planting, opening this land, and easing pressure on Talbot Heath as soon as possible.
Since the appeal was determined and consent was granted in July 2024, we have been developing a detailed layout and masterplan. We intend to submit formal plans for the Heathland Support Area to BCP Council in 2025 for approval.
With greater clarity on what can now be built, we are now progressing work to shape the detailed vision for the wider Innovation Quarter. While the Heathland Support Area remains our current focus, we’re also defining the next steps and timelines for the remainder of the scheme, including the hospital.
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The transport impact of the hospital and Innovation Quarter has been the subject of extensive testing in consultation with BCP Council.
The forecast traffic levels associated with the site reflect the other changes that BCP Council are making to the road system in the local area, with the aim of improving sustainability. The ongoing Wallisdown Road Corridor improvements, the provision of the proposed north / south high-quality cycling and walking route through the development to the centre of Bournemouth and the train station, will all improve sustainable transport routes in the area.
There are already great bus links to and from the area. Bus stops on Gillett Road will serve the hospital and Innovation Quarter. Other initiatives such as travel vouchers and facilities for Beryl bikes and scooters will be considered. Additionally, the Innovation Quarter has been designed specifically to minimise the use of motor vehicle, with the parking provision meeting the Council’s policies to discourage car use.
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Parking for the Innovation Quarter has been provided in accordance with BCP Council’s adopted parking standards.
Like many authorities, BCP Council’s parking standards are intentionally set to promote sustainable transport above private vehicle trips. Compared to previous parking standards, the new standards significantly reduce the level of parking which can be provided for new development to encourage use of sustainable travel.
Our planning application included a lot of measures to encourage sustainable transport and promote less reliance on the cars.
However, we understand that it will not always be possible for everyone to use sustainable modes of transport all the time. It is recognised some visitors to the Innovation Quarter, may still seek parking off-site on local roads, park inappropriately within the site or be dropped off/collected by a vehicle.
To prevent this, we have committed to contributing to the implementation of parking controls on and around Alyth Road. There are already significant parking controls on the network in the vicinity of the Universities. We are also talking with the Council to see whether it would be possible increase the level of measures above that currently proposed.
We are keen to make sustainable transport the best option for those visiting the Innovation Quarter. People who work and visit the site will benefit from excellent accessibility by sustainable modes of transport, including walking, cycling and public transport. There are already extensive bus links from the area across the conurbation, including routes to and from Bournemouth Rail Station.
BCP Council has made significant investment in sustainable transport on the local network, including the recent Boundary Roundabout changes to make travel easier for pedestrians and cyclists, the Wallisdown Road corridor improvements and the Transforming Cities Fund cycle route. These will be enhanced by the development through the provision of a new pedestrian and cycle route between Gillett Road and Alyth Road, including improvements to Gillett Road and an enhanced connection to Alyth Road. This improved connectivity will help both the site and the wider area, as people will have greater choice in how they travel, and will be able to travel easily between destinations, without using a car. Given the site’s excellent accessibility by sustainable means, the development offers a real opportunity to build new sustainable transport patterns and influence travel behaviours, and to reduce car use amongst future users of the site.
Parking for the Innovation Quarter will be managed using a permit system, which means that only a certain number of employees at the site will be permitted to park on-site, with others required to travel using alternative modes.
For the Hospital, the car park will be free for all users. In the current proposals, there are around 200 car parking spaces on the Nuffield Health site, which is significantly more than the parking provision at the current Nuffield Health hospital. At any one time, there would only be around 120 staff on site, with some staff car sharing and others who walk or cycle to the hospital. On the existing site approximately 5% of the team use sustainable methods to travel to work and we expect this to double at the new hospital with better cycle storage and changing facilities.
The remaining spaces will be for patients and visitor numbers will number between 300-450 per day. The vast majority of patients and visitors will only be on site for 1-2 hours. Over a typical 8am to 8pm day, this means around 38 patients per hour. Allowing an estimated 120 spaces for staff and 77 for patients, means there is ample space for all hospital users to park on the site.
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The value of the deal is commercially sensitive information that we are contracted to keep confidential, however we can confirm that the trustees have not made any money from any stage of this development. Talbot Village Trust is a charity run by volunteer trustees who are not paid. They manage the charity in their free time.
The charity will retain the freehold of the land ensuring that the Innovation Quarter is managed for the long-term benefit of the community.
The funds generated throughout the life of the development will go to the charity to enhance its long-term grant giving support for communities and for those most in need.
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Heathland Support Area
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The Heathland Support Area is a new public open space, approved as part of the planning consent in 2024. It will serve as an alternative local recreational area designed to reduce visitor pressure on Talbot Heath.
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The Heathland Support Area (HSA) will cover around 12 hectares between the Hospital and Innovation Quarter, and Talbot Heath. It stretches from the back of the houses on Alyth Road, to behind Sainsbury’s at Alder Hills. The idea is to give local people, especially dog walkers, an alternative place to walk, relax, and enjoy nature, so there’s less footfall on the more ecologically sensitive Talbot Heath.
The new space isn’t meant to draw crowds from further afield but simply offer a better local option for dog walking and casual strolls.
The plants, trees and layout have been chosen specifically to boost biodiversity, so it’ll benefit both people and wildlife.
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There is no plan for people to park at the HSA, and we won’t be providing a car park.
The HSA differs from a SANG which is a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace: a type of open green space created to attract people for recreational purposes, that typically offers parking, cafes, toilets and other facilities. Instead, the HSA is intended only for people who are already dog walking in the area, and who access it on foot.
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While we have three years to create and open the HSA, we are keen to plant and open this land to reduce pressure on Talbot Heath as soon as possible.
We have begun working up detailed Heathland Support Area plans which we are aiming to submit to BCP Council for sign off in the second half of 2025.
Highmoor Farm
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Highmoor Farm hasn’t been a working farm in any practical sense for a long time. Its small size and location on the edge of town prevented it from meeting its costs and made it difficult to manage. It also faced ongoing issues like fly tipping and trespassing.
The proposed Heathland Support Area (HSA) isn’t about fencing the area off or digging it up; it’s about improving it. It’ll be open for local people to enjoy, with walking paths, space for dog walkers, and more places to get out into nature.
The plan is to boost the quality of the land for both wildlife and people. We’ll be planting wildflowers, hedgerows and trees to encourage birds, bees and mammals to thrive. Instead overgrazing and risking compacting the soil, we’ll manage it in a gentler way, similar to the approach taken on the nearby heathland, so the area becomes more diverse and sustainable over time.
It’s not about taking green space away; it’s about making it better for nature and opening it to the public.
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The livestock were not owned or managed by the Trust; they belonged to the private tenant who previously rented the land. The animals were relocated elsewhere by their owner.
Talbot Heath
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No. We have no intention of building on Talbot Heath, now or in the future.
We value the SSSI (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) status of Talbot Heath, shared jointly with BCP Council, and the SNCI (Site of Nature Conservation Interest) designation of Talbot Slopes. SNCI is a non-statutory designation used in the UK to protect areas that are important for wildlife and habitats at a local or regional level but that don’t meet the criteria for national designations like SSSIs.
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The HSA will provide a series of beautiful walking routes and areas made convenient for dog walking. It is designed specifically to intercept people looking for informal recreational space, as well as reduce the numbers that already use the Heath, especially during bird nesting season.
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No, we hope that the HSA will provide a more suitable and desirable dog walking space for the immediate local community. Unlike a SANG, which is designed to be a destination walking area, the HSA is designed to be used by local residents as an alternative to the Heath.
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Members of the public can report any problems such as anti-social behaviour to the Trust’s managing agent, Fowler Fortescue: tvt@fowlerfortescue.co.uk
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Each year during the winter months, work is done to cut back scrub and gorse, which helps protect the natural habitat and keeps things under control. There’s also a fire break maintained near the homes on Isaacs Close to reduce any risk during dry spells.
In the summer, BCP Council bring native cattle in to graze the land across the Heath, including the area owned by Talbot Village Trust. This is a natural and effective way to manage the Heath and helps keep the vegetation in balance, supporting the right mix of plants and wildlife.
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