Your council

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: what’s happening where you live

What the council itself has published on the five things it most shapes for a household: homes, getting about, the bill, the local environment and schools. Each line is quoted from the council’s own document, with the link. This page says what was decided or proposed; it never says whether it was right.

This page is built from official registers only; the council’s own publications have not been read yet, and every line below says so where that leaves a gap.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council: Unitary authority (unitary), England, South West. GOV.UK lists it as a unitary council. ONS code E06000058.

Council website

Do it online

The council’s own service pages as listed by GOV.UK’s Local Links Manager (Open Government Licence), refreshed weekly; the same list of everyday services, in the same order, for every council, in GOV.UK’s wording.

Housing

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Transport

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Council tax

Band D set by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole for 2026–27: £1,980.46 of a £2,435.58 total bill in the area. MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027 (Open Government Licence).

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Environment

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Education

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Changes to schools in this area recorded by the Department for Education Updated automatically

No school here is currently recorded as proposed to open or close.

In the last twelve months: 1 opened (1 fresh start), 1 closed (1 fresh start)

St Aldhelm's Academy (secondary) — closed; reason recorded: fresh start, 31 October 2026
St Aldhelm's Academy (secondary) — open; reason recorded: fresh start, 1 November 2026

Get Information about Schools, DfE’s register of every school in England, refreshed daily (Open Government Licence). The register’s own reason is shown: most closures and openings are a school becoming an academy, which changes who runs it, not whether it is there.

What the council plans to spend, 2026–27

The budget for each service, as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole reported it to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The same headings, in the same order, for every council in England.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: budget by service, 2026 to 2027
Service	Budget
Education services	£272.9 million
Highways and transport services	£7.4 million
Children's social care	£116.1 million
Adult social care	£198.3 million
Public health	£27.5 million
Housing services (general fund only)	£25.6 million
Cultural and related services	£18.7 million
Environmental and regulatory services	£46.9 million
Planning and development services	£11.9 million
Police services	none budgeted
Fire and rescue services	none budgeted
Central services	£18.7 million
Other services	£15.2 million
Total service expenditure	£759.2 million

Net current expenditure: net of sales, fees and charges; spending funded by the NHS, such as through the Better Care Fund, is excluded.A minus figure means the service’s income is budgeted to be more than its spending. “None budgeted” usually means another body runs that service here. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Revenue Account Budget 2026 to 2027, individual local authority data (part 1), updated 11 June 2026 (Open Government Licence).

Life in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: the official facts

Facts about the people who live here: their pay, homes, health and more, from official statistics. They describe the place, not you, and every council gets the same list. Each shows when it was measured.

Show the figures for:

Showing: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

People living here: 405,829 people 30 June 2025 · Office for National StatisticsAn official estimate of everyone who lives in the area, in the middle of the year.
Typical age: 43 years 30 June 2025 · Office for National StatisticsHalf the people who live here are younger than this and half are older.
Money to live on, per person, per year: £26,164 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage household income per person after taxes, with benefits added: what people have to spend or save.
Typical weekly pay, before tax: £619 30 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsFor employees who live here: half earn more than this each week, half earn less.
Children growing up in poverty: 24.4% April 2024 to March 2025 · Department for Work and PensionsThe share of children under 16 in families on low incomes once housing costs are paid.
People claiming unemployment-related benefits: 3.4% 2025 · Office for National StatisticsThe share of people aged 16 to 64 claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit while looking for work.
Average price of a home: £310,176 August 2026 · HM Land RegistryThe average price of a home here in the month shown.
How many years of pay a home costs: 9.1 times yearly pay 1 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsA typical home's price divided by the typical yearly pay of people who live here.
Years in good health: women: 61.5 years 2022 to 2024 · Office for National StatisticsHow many years a girl born here can expect to live in good health, at current rates.
Years in good health: men: 61.4 years 2022 to 2024 · Office for National StatisticsHow many years a boy born here can expect to live in good health, at current rates.
Greenhouse gases, per person: 2.9 tonnes per person 2024 · Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroEmissions from the area in a year, shared out per resident, in tonnes of carbon dioxide or its equivalent.
Homes and businesses that can get the fastest broadband: 89.0% 1 January 2026 · OfcomThe share of addresses that can get gigabit broadband (1,000 Mbps).
Public chargers for electric cars: 112.0 per 100,000 people 1 July 2026 · Department for Transport, sourced from ZapmapPublic charging points at all speeds, for every 100,000 people.
Businesses trading here: 17,080 businesses 2024 · Office for National StatisticsBusinesses with sales or staff in the year.

More figures for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole from the ONS

Gathered by the Office for National Statistics in Explore Local Statistics (Open Government Licence), refreshed daily. Some figures aren’t published for every nation, so the list can be shorter outside England.

Who runs the council

76 seats in 2026. Run by: a coalition or arrangement of Liberal Democrats and independents. Open Council Data (public domain).

Councillors by party: Liberal Democrats 28, Conservative and Unionist 9, Labour Party 8, Christchurch Independents 8, Green Party (E&W) 7, Independent / Other 6, The Party for Poole People Ltd. 5, Reform UK 3, Poole Engage Party 2.

Next scheduled council election: 6 May 2027.

All 76 councillors, by ward

Adrian Chapmanlaw (Liberal Democrats) — Alderney & Bourne Valley
Rachel Pattinson-West (Green Party (E&W)) — Alderney & Bourne Valley
Tony Trent (Liberal Democrats) — Alderney & Bourne Valley
David Brown (Liberal Democrats) — Bearwood & Merley
Marcus Andrews (Liberal Democrats) — Bearwood & Merley
Richard Burton (Liberal Democrats) — Bearwood & Merley
Eleanor Connolly (Labour Party) — Boscombe East & Pokesdown
George Farquhar (Labour Party) — Boscombe East & Pokesdown
Gillian Martin (Reform UK) — Boscombe West
Patrick Canavan (Labour Party) — Boscombe West
Hazel Allen (Conservative and Unionist) — Bournemouth Central
Jamie Martin (Labour Party) — Bournemouth Central
Peter Sidaway (Liberal Democrats) — Broadstone
Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrats) — Broadstone
David Flagg (Christchurch Independents) — Burton & Grange
Simon McCormack (Christchurch Independents) — Burton & Grange
Gavin Wright (Conservative and Unionist) — Canford Cliffs
John Challinor (Conservative and Unionist) — Canford Cliffs
Chris Matthews (Liberal Democrats) — Canford Heath
Clare Weight (Liberal Democrats) — Canford Heath
Sandra Moore (Liberal Democrats) — Canford Heath
Michael Tarling (Liberal Democrats) — Christchurch Town
Mike Cox (Liberal Democrats) — Christchurch Town
Margaret Phipps (Christchurch Independents) — Commons
Vanessa Ricketts (Christchurch Independents) — Commons
Judes Butt (Poole Engage Party) — Creekmoor
Paul Slade (Liberal Democrats) — Creekmoor
Anne Filer (Conservative and Unionist) — East Cliff & Springbourne
Anne-Marie Moriarty (Labour Party) — East Cliff & Springbourne
Sara Armstrong (Green Party (E&W)) — East Cliff & Springbourne
Bernadette Nanovo (Liberal Democrats) — East Southbourne & Tuckton
Judy Richardson (Liberal Democrats) — East Southbourne & Tuckton
Brian Hitchcock (The Party for Poole People Ltd.) — Hamworthy
Julie Bagwell (Poole Engage Party) — Hamworthy
Peter Cooper (Labour Party) — Hamworthy
Andy Martin (Christchurch Independents) — Highcliffe & Walkford
David Martin (Christchurch Independents) — Highcliffe & Walkford
Cameron Adams (Reform UK) — Kinson
Duane Farr (Reform UK) — Kinson
Michelle Dower (Independent / Other) — Kinson
Bobbie Dove (Conservative and Unionist) — Littledown & Iford
Lawrence Williams (Conservative and Unionist) — Littledown & Iford
Joe Salmon (Green Party (E&W)) — Moordown
Kate Salmon (Green Party (E&W)) — Moordown
Lesley Dedman (Christchurch Independents) — Mudeford, Stanpit & West Highcliffe
Paul Hilliard (Christchurch Independents) — Mudeford, Stanpit & West Highcliffe
Kieron Wilson (Independent / Other) — Muscliff & Strouden Park
Lisa Northover (Independent / Other) — Muscliff & Strouden Park
Toby Slade (Conservative and Unionist) — Muscliff & Strouden Park
Marion Le Poidevin (Liberal Democrats) — Newtown & Heatherlands
Millie Earl (Liberal Democrats) — Newtown & Heatherlands
Sandra Mackrow (Liberal Democrats) — Newtown & Heatherlands
Felicity Rice (The Party for Poole People Ltd.) — Oakdale
Pete Miles (The Party for Poole People Ltd.) — Oakdale
Crispin Goodall (Liberal Democrats) — Parkstone
Emily Pankhurst (Liberal Democrats) — Parkstone
Jo Clements (Liberal Democrats) — Penn Hill
Oliver Walters (Liberal Democrats) — Penn Hill
Andy Hadley (The Party for Poole People Ltd.) — Poole Town
Mark Howell (The Party for Poole People Ltd.) — Poole Town
Sue Aitkenhead (Labour Party) — Poole Town
Alasdair Keddie (Green Party (E&W)) — Queen's Park
Sharon Carr-Brown (Labour Party) — Queen's Park
Jackie Edwards (Independent / Other) — Redhill & Northbourne
Stephen Bartlett (Independent / Other) — Redhill & Northbourne
Dawn Logan (Liberal Democrats) — Talbot & Branksome Woods
Karen Rampton (Independent / Other) — Talbot & Branksome Woods
Matthew Gillett (Liberal Democrats) — Talbot & Branksome Woods
Olivia Brown (Liberal Democrats) — Wallisdown & Winton West
Richard Herrett (Liberal Democrats) — Wallisdown & Winton West
Brian Chick (Liberal Democrats) — West Southbourne
Jeff Hanna (Liberal Democrats) — West Southbourne
David d'Orton-Gibson (Conservative and Unionist) — Westbourne & West Cliff
John Beesley (Conservative and Unionist) — Westbourne & West Cliff
Chris Rigby (Green Party (E&W)) — Winton East
Simon Bull (Green Party (E&W)) — Winton East

Each councillor’s register of interests is on the council’s own website; we have not yet located the page. Councillors from Open Council Data as recorded after the May 2026 elections; a by-election since then may have changed one seat. Attendance and allowances are not shown.

This council’s meeting papers are not yet read automatically, so decisions and motions are not listed here; they are on the council’s website.

Write to your councillors → WriteToThem (mySociety) finds them from your postcode; nothing is sent through this site.

Cite this page

Harvard style. Every figure on the page also names its original source, which is usually the better thing to cite.

Every council page has the same five headings in the same order. Sources are the council’s own publications and official statistics. Council list: mySociety, UK Local Authorities (CC BY 4.0) and WhatDoTheyKnow authorities (CC BY-SA 4.0); council websites, tiers and service links: GOV.UK (Open Government Licence); codes: ONS Code History Database (Open Government Licence). Corrections: hello@whatsittome.org.