An ambitious vision for the future of the BCP area is being considered alongside the proposed 2021/22 budget. As the tenth-largest urban authority in England, BCP Council is putting plans in place to ensure our city region emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic stronger, braver and ready for a bright and prosperous future.
Leader of the Council, Cllr Drew Mellor, explains: “Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is the UK’s newest city region and it’s brimming with prospects, positivity and pride. We have it all right here: amazing culture and heritage alongside innovation, vibrant town centres and bustling community villages, countryside and coastline. We want to harness the potential of our coastline of opportunity and make BCP a place where people and businesses want to be – because of the vibrancy of our communities, the strength of our economy, the skills of our people, the wealth of our culture and the quality of our infrastructure, our environment and quality of life.” He added: “To do that, we have developed a Big Plan, with five big projects to deliver big and positive changes for our whole area. To help us deliver this level of ambition we are proposing to create a £50m Futures Fund to invest in infrastructure to help make our aspirations a reality.”
Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning, Cllr Phil Broadhead, said: “The five big projects we are proposing will collectively demonstrate our vision and aspirations. They are a statement of intent that we will turn into reality. The five themes are creating an iconic cityscape, ongoing investment in our seafront, delivering on our promise to rejuvenate Poole, investing in our physical and digital infrastructure and acting at scale, as we aim to deliver more than 15,000 homes for people of all incomes, generate £3 billion of investment value in our communities and support the creation of 13,000 new jobs.”
Cllr Broadhead added: “Taking our vision and Big Plan to Full Council is just the first step. I am looking forward to sharing more detailed plans as they are developed, once the vision receives the endorsement and backing of Full Council and the Futures Fund can be swiftly established and put to work.”
How BCP council is about to transform…
