Bournemouth Town Hall. THE main opposition group on BCP Council will put a greater focus on green projects and social care through its budget amendment proposals at Tuesday s full council meeting, it said. Funded through a further council tax rise and the removal of more than £2 million earmarked for regeneration, the Unity Alliance said its budget was “fair, prudent and responsible”. But concerns have been raised in the hospitality and arts sectors with industry leaders saying it amounted to “abandoning” some of the region’s biggest employers. Agreed on Friday, the Unity Alliance s amendments include a £1 million respite fund for carers and a hold on any increase in social care charges.
A CALL to replace BCP Council’s single planning committee with one for each of the area’s three towns has been rejected. Christchurch Independent councillor Margaret Phipps made the request at Tuesday’s meeting of the council, saying the existing system ignored the “distinctive and diverse nature” of each town. But her suggestion was narrowly voted down over concerns it would be “cumbersome, costly and time-consuming”. The idea had been considered prior to the formation of the council in 2019 and the idea had been raised by Cllr Phipps during her time as the cabinet member for planning. However, its consideration was left to a working group already carrying out a review of the council’s constitution.
This proposal was rejected by the Conservative administration by the narrowest of margins, 38-36. From the inception of the unitary council, the Christchurch Independents have been asking for three committees. It was clear to us, living in our own area of such unique heritage and diverse architecture, green space and coastline, that one committee for such a wide area as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole simply would not work. We said it would be a blunt instrument, working within a too-large framework and unable to assimilate the differences in our three towns. Now the unitary has been in place for nearly two years, time has proved that this is the case. Residents – even those who formerly embraced the unitary system – have told us that they now find having only one planning committee is not working for our area.