A group of forty Year 11 and 12 geography students from Southbourne’s Bournemouth Collegiate School 
became planners for the day with the help of local town planning consultants Tanner & Tilley and property letting and tourism accommodation specialists, Bournecoast.
With the help of these two development and property specialists the students were set the task of considering the impacts of a hypothetical planning application for development of 60 bed budget hotel on a landmark Southbourne cliff top site.
The students were split into four groups with each group required to considered the proposed development from the perspective of either the applicant, local residents, local retailer or local guesthouse operators. They were then required to present their findings as if they were seeking to convince a Planning Committee to either approve or refuse planning permission for the proposal.
Fellow Year 11 pupil, Miles Coulam added, “I enjoyed the role play and it helped me to understand the development process and how many different points of view town planners have to consider before agreeing an application.”
Year11 pupil, Thomas Hypher, said, “The talk was really useful and informed me of the planning process.”
Des Simmons of Bournecoast commented, “It was impressive to see how these young students got to grips with the real-life issues that such a development can raise, from matters as diverse as promotion of the local tourism economy to impact on small businesses and the likely effect on existing residential communities.”
After the event, Peter Tanner, Managing Director of Planning Consultants Tanner & Tilley, said, “It was interesting to see how the students gained an appreciation of the difficult choices faced by Planning Committees in the light of representations from different pressure groups. The exercise certainly generated lively debate amongst these budding young planners.
David Revill, geography tutor for Bournemouth Collegiate School said, “We are very appreciative of these two local professional Practices to take the time to give our geography students a taste of the real world of property and development. The kids really got stuck into the task and have learned a great deal from the exercise”.