BIC FUTURE ON LINE

From the Echo, first published Monday 20th Oct 2003.

THE Bournemouth International Centre's entire future is on the line in a make-or-break redevelopment scheme.

And it would mean the main concert venue - the Windsor Hall - closing for a year and the swimming pool shutting for good.

The conference and entertainment venue is worth £100 million a year to the economy but has become "embarrassing" and "no longer up to the job", its finance boss Steve Smith told councillors.

Bournemouth Borough Council's cabinet is being urged to spend £500,000 on designing the re-development, setting in motion an £18 million scheme which is not yet financed.

Mr Smith, head of finance and operations, told councillors the stakes were high in the plan which the Liberal Democrat administration had chosen to pursue.

Controversially, the plan would close the BIC swimming pool for good from the start of work in June 2004.

Risks include a very tight working timescale, which could "badly damage" Bournemouth's reputation if it was not met by contractors, said Mr Smith.

High profile acts and conferences would have to be booked in advance of the centre reopening in phases in 2004 and 2005.

Putting off these events would be hugely costly and damaging to Bournemouth's image, he added.

Only £2 million of the £18 million cost has so far been guaranteed by the South West Regional Develop-ment Agency and council officers have said they would ask for more.

Building work would close the Windsor Hall from October 2004 following the Conservative Conference to the completion of work in August/September 2005. The hall's capacity would be significantly improved.

The hall is in use this season alone by top notch money-spinning acts like Muse, The Darkness, The Flaming Lips and, in December, Blur, costing at least £17.50 per ticket.

Mr Smith said: "The market is telling us that we need to move forward, we have customer demands telling us that we need continuous investment to improve our facilities.

"This is in order that we can improve our programming and give additional exhibition and flexible space."

The private sector has already reacted negatively to the scheme due to the risks involved, said leisure and tourism director Stephen Godsall. No suitable firms would take over the centre unless all council entertainment venues were handed over and the Winter Gardens closed - an idea which councillors have rejected.

The council's scrutiny panel on the economy was told 10 per cent of the £18 million could be held back to cover risks such as building problems, which were likely in such a project. But it was not possible to insure against commercial failure or lost revenue during development, said Mr Smith.

"We can seek damages from the contractors if they do not complete on time or within budget," he added.

The council's cabinet will discuss the panel's recommendations on Wednesday.

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