Month: November 2021

Residents and visitors to Poole Park will see some positive changes from next month, as works to reopen Poole Park Railway commence. Following a successful tender process, the much loved Poole Park Railway is set to return next year. Track Systems, based in Shropshire, will begin work on site during the first week in December. Councillor Mark Anderson, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste, said: “Getting Poole Park Railway up and running again has been a commitment we wanted to fulfil since the service was suspended in 2018. “Rejuvenating Poole is a key priority of us and bringing the railway back on track reinforces this commitment. It is a special asset, which has been a feature since 1949, and I’m so pleased that we will soon see it back…

Leader of the Conservative Group at Dorset Council – Cllr Spencer Flower is delighted that Mike Barron has joined the Group. It can be seen as a ringing endorsement of the positive work this Conservative administration has achieved in driving transformation, economic development, the environment, Adult Social Care, children's services and much more. It demonstrates that having an optimistic and positive vision for Dorset will achieve far more than negativity, cynicism and party politicing. I feel sure that Mike will be a great asset to our team at Dorset Council and I, as Leader, along with Paul Harrison as his Corfe Mullen Ward colleague, look forward to working with Mike. A warm welcome to our Group

Environmental charity CDP has published its Cities A List, which celebrates those demonstrating their climate leadership through concerted and effective action. These cities are taking twice as many climate mitigation and adaptation measures as non-A Listers. To achieve an 'A', a city must have set an emissions reduction target, a renewable energy target, must disclose a city-wide emissions inventory and have published a climate action plan. The 2021 list includes BCP Council, Edinburgh City Council, City of Leicester, Greater Manchester, Newcastle City Council, Nottingham City, Reading Borough Council, Southend on Sea Borough Council and Sunderland City Council. Cllr Sally Longford, deputy leader of Nottingham City Council, said: 'Following on from COP26, we are keen to drive positive change within the city. Working alongside other A List cities – including Bristol, Manchester,…

Looking for something festive to do this weekend? Why not come into Bournemouth to visit Christmas Tree Wonderland and enter a world of Christmas!With over 100 illuminations to amaze and delight, as well as the Bournemouth Christmas Market, Ice SKATE & Moguls Alpine Bar Bournemouth and much more, what are you waiting for?!For more information, visit christmastreewonderland.co.uk

A modern civic centre in which residents can easily attend public meetings and functions in person or online, is now a step closer. This follows improvements to the civic space within the newly remodelled BCP Council Civic Centre, formerly the Bournemouth Town Hall, being agreed at Cabinet. Cllr Drew Mellor, Leader of BCP Council said: “Remodelling the civic space will make it fit for purpose for the public, as well as facilitate modern, more efficient ways of working for our staff and councillors. The works will give people with disabilities the same independent access to the building as any other member of the public, and the introduction of new technology will ensure access to council meetings remains available to all. This is good for local democracy and creates greater transparency…

New for 2022 Poole residents may need to register a new account as the system we use for registration for this service has changed since registration for the 2021 service. Cost of the garden waste service: This service runs fortnightly from February – December 2022 and costs £46.44 per bin. This price reflects the annual RPI increase, while also removing the cost of two missed collections from earlier in 2021, when the service was temporarily suspended for a month, due to staff being required to self-isolate, alongside a national shortage of LGV drivers and lack of agency workers. The cost of the garden waste service will remain the same regardless of when you purchase the service. We are unable to offer any reduced rates if you purchase the service at any…

An outbreak of Avian Influenza has been confirmed at a premises in Southbourne. The area is currently undergoing testing to find out more information about the strain. Trading Standards Officers from BCP Council are working alongside officers from the Government’s Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) with measures to prevent the spread of the disease. These measures include a cull of the birds who pose a direct risk, as well as further investigation over the weekend into premises in the area who are breeding or keeping birds. Please be advised that a 3km Temporary Control Zone has been constructed around an area centred on Castlemain Avenue at this time with regard to animal movements. APHA and BCP Council officers will be knocking on doors in the zone from tomorrow to…

A pioneering new placemaking company is driving forward a multi-billion-pound regeneration programme to make the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole city region world class – one of the best coastal places in which to live, work, invest and play. BCP Council has launched FuturePlaces, a wholly owned urban regeneration company to spearhead the local authority’s Big Plan ambitions to deliver significant investment across the city region. It will play a key role in supporting the council’s commitment to create 13,000 jobs across all sectors of the economy and deliver 15,000 homes at the highest quality at all levels of affordability for local people. An initial 14 regeneration sites with a gross development value of more than £2.8bn will be brought forward for investment by FuturePlaces. Sites include the south west’s largest…

Bi-weekly, BCP Council Leader Drew Mellor hosts a live Q&A to answer any questions you may have about the BCP area or council; This weeks live was hosted on Facebook, but make sure to keep an eye out on social media to find which platform future Q&As will be hosted. This week Cllr Mellor answered questions that touched on subjects like: COVID numbers and booster jabs, Insulation, Anti-Social Behaviour and Public Transport Prices. You can watch the video here: https://fb.watch/9maOhuT2sF/

Community projects across Bournemouth and Poole have been awarded over £440,000 via the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Neighbourhood Portion Fund. The funding, which has been generated from new housing developments, is awarded to local projects to improve local community facilities. In May this year, BCP Council invited residents, businesses and community groups in Bournemouth and Poole to submit bids for local projects which would improve, benefit and shape the development of their community. After a process of allocation, 31 projects across 17 wards have been successful in their bid and have been awarded funding. Funding ranges from a £900 grant for the Winton Community Shed Project in the Winton East ward to just over £62,500 for Down In The Woods Pre-School in the Bearwood and Merley ward. Hamworthy Park has…