Published on Wednesday 24 February 2021
A game-changing new £50 million Futures Fund for infrastructure investment is being created by BCP Council. The strategic funding approach was agreed at Full Council on 23 February 2021, alongside adoption of a new vision - the council’s Big Plan - to create a world class city region by attracting £3 billion investment in five core themes.
These themes are:
- Iconic cityscape
- Seafront
- Rejuvenate Poole
- Infrastructure
- Act at scale
The Big Plan will see BCP Council stepping up regeneration with a renewed focus on place-based leadership and restoring a sense of pride. The Futures Fund will release resources to commence this work at pace, delivering transformative schemes that add value to our civic spaces, improve infrastructure and deliver 15,000 new homes and 13,000 new jobs.
The Fund will be drawn down in tranches of £10 million per annum over five years in support of investment in local infrastructure. It will be funded through borrowing with the capital and interest repayments which will reach £1.435 million per annum by year five, factored into the 2021/22 budget and medium-term financial plan.
Leader of the Council, Councillor 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, Councillor 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."