Published on Wednesday 23 October 2019
Everyone living in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is being asked to highlight what they consider are important issues within their communities.
Open to submissions until Monday 18 November, BCP Council is collecting feedback on community issues so they can plan for them and address them within its new Local Plan. Considering the needs identified, the plan will be used to set the Council’s long-term goals and guide future development in the area.
As part of the process, local people are also asked to submit information about underused, neglected or vacant land that they want to be considered for future uses or development.
Councillor Margaret Phipps, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning at BCP Council, said;
"The sort of issues that residents might want us to focus on can be big or small and cover anything from high streets to parks, businesses to bins, roads and housing, to wellbeing and the environment. It’s important that we consider the views of all ages and we encourage any suggestions that communities feel we should be addressing as part of our local plan.''
"We also want people to help us identify any sites that they want us to consider for any future development purposes. As examples this can for planting more trees, creating new open spaces, or for providing new housing and employment opportunities. If you know of any sites that could be used to benefit the community in any way, please let us know.’’
Views on how the Council should engage with people in respect of its planning services, including how it should inform the public about planning applications within their neighbourhoods, are also being gathered. A draft Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) has been prepared setting out a suggested approach and any feedback from the public is encouraged.