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

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).

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in numbers

Official statistics for the whole council area. Each figure is the latest published, with the period it covers.

Total population: 408,967 people 30 June 2024 · Office for National StatisticsMid-year estimate of the total number of people
Median age: 42 years 30 June 2024 · Office for National StatisticsMedian age of people
Gross disposable household income per head: £26,164 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage income per person (£) after taxes and direct benefits
Gross median weekly pay: £619 30 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsGross median weekly pay based on where people live (£)
Children in relative poverty after housing costs: 24.4% April 2024 to March 2025 · Department for Work and PensionsPercentage of children aged under 16 living in relative low income families After Housing Costs (AHC)
Claimant Count: 3.4% 2025 · Office for National StatisticsPercentage of people aged 16 to 64 who are claiming unemployment-related benefits
Average house price: £310,094 July 2026 · HM Land RegistryAverage monthly price of a property (£)
Housing affordability ratio (residence-based): 9.1 affordability ratio 1 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsRatio of median house price to median gross annual residence-based earnings
Female healthy life expectancy: 61.5 years 2022 to 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage years expected to be lived in good health for females born in the given year
Male healthy life expectancy: 61.4 years 2022 to 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage years expected to be lived in good health for males born in the given year
Greenhouse gas emissions: 2.9 tCO2e per capita 2024 · Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroGreenhouse gas emissions (tCO2e) per capita
Gigabit capable broadband: 89.0% 1 January 2026 · OfcomPercentage of premises that have coverage from a gigabit-capable service (download speeds of 1,000 Mbps or more)
Public electric vehicle chargers: 112.0 per 100,000 population 1 July 2026 · Department for Transport, sourced from ZapmapPublicly available electric vehicle chargers at all speeds per 100,000 people
Active businesses: 17,080 number of enterprises 2024 · Office for National StatisticsBusinesses with turnover or employment in current year

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.

Elections here now: Penn Hill ward (5 November 2026).

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.