Bournemouth's Winter Gardens site is in line for a major revamp after it was revealed the local authority is considering offloading the land to a private pension fund.

A P Bond Children's Settlement has proposed the development of a 66,000sq m (710,418sq ft) mixed-use scheme, which is set to include cinemas, landscaped areas and shops. Bournemouth Borough Council (BBC) is considering the sale of the land, with the pension fund already owning the freehold of a building housing the La Strada Italian restaurant.

The pension fund is working to acquire other interests required to progress the project, and the council has revealed it will back the process with compulsory purchase orders if necessary. BBC director for technical services Roger Ball said: "Officers are recommending that the council accepts this conditional offer. The developer will then have until 1 March 2012 to obtain a planning consent and enter into a lease, which could see development start in the summer of that year.

"While the details of the leisure content within this scheme will become clearer as this development progresses, it is hoped that this will incorporate a new, multi-screen cinema."