A major milestone for Bournemouth's Town Centre Vision has been reached with the creation of a public-private partnership to kick-start £350 million regeneration.

Known as 'The Bournemouth Development Company', the partnership will bring about major investment in the town centre over the next 20 years, including new family attractions, homes, shops and business units as well as improvements to public spaces.

Bournemouth is the first coastal town in the UK to team up with the private sector in this way.

Cllr John Beesley, Deputy Leader of Bournemouth Borough Council, said: "This is a great milestone. Our search for a partner with whom to deliver many elements of the Town Centre Vision attracted world-class companies and we were particularly impressed with the proposal from Morgan Sindall Investments. As well as having the financial ability to help deliver the Vision, they have demonstrated a strong commitment to Bournemouth and have an impressive track record.

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"By forming this partnership we’re helping secure Bournemouth's future as a premier destination, working with some of the nation's most talented urban designers and architects to bring major improvements, without impacting financially on council taxpayers."

Leyton Mount Car Park has been earmarked as the first major site to be developed by The Bournemouth Development Company, with early plans including a number of homes for family living with ancillary retail in the form of shops or cafes. A new multi-storey car park is planned for Madeira Road and profit from these early schemes will help fund improvements to Westover Road.

At least 14 other sites, including Cotlands Road and the Bath Road South car parks, are expected to be developed and others may be acquired within the life of the partnership.

Duncan Johnston from Morgan Sindall Investments said: "We're excited to be playing such a pivotal role in Bournemouth's future. Through this long-term partnership we hope to enhance Bournemouth’s already strong heritage to bring landmark improvements. A partnership of this kind is truly cutting edge and what we achieve here will be an example to the rest of Europe."

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The 50-50 partnership, known technically as a ‘Local Asset Backed Vehicle’, will see the Council investing each site when development is imminent and Morgan Sindall investing its market value. There’ll be some debt financing to get the project started, with the expected profit from each development funding improvements elsewhere.