Published on Thursday 01 January 2026
2026 represents a year of ambition and opportunity for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole as the Council continues to work with partners to build on the positive momentum from the past 12 months.
From revitalising play spaces and supporting the growth of our high streets to empowering local communities and delivering unified services, BCP Council is setting out a bold vision for the future.
Cllr Millie Earl, Leader of BCP Council, reflects below on our plans that will create places where families thrive, businesses grow, and residents feel proud to call their home. Cllr Earl says:
2025 has been a year of real momentum for our three towns - with more than £750million of new investment into our area, new businesses flourishing, exciting plans for play areas and green spaces allowing communities to thrive, and visitors returning more regularly - boosting our local economy.
From 22 new big-name brands and independent businesses opening their doors in Bournemouth town centre this year, to innovative finance firms expanding in Poole, and a thriving town centre in Christchurch, we are home to more than 15,500 businesses - with plans already bringing vacant units back into community use.
We’re fighting for residents amid a challenging national picture – lobbying to have funding for vital local services, including support for those most vulnerable in our communities, restored allowing us to set a balanced and sustainable budget.
We’ll be empowering communities through the creation of town councils: from high streets and Christmas lights to festivals and youth activities, residents will have a greater say and involvement on local priorities.
Our brand new Residents Card will give residents discounts across the three towns: introducing a free monthly swim to boost health and wellbeing as well as offers on parking so residents can spend more time enjoying our fantastic high streets.
Across our stunning natural spaces, our team is already hard at work putting play areas back at the heart of communities. We’re taking that to a new level in 2026 by investing £4.4million into more than 120 play spaces so they can be loved by families, children and young people for generations to come.
From April 2026, more than 100,000 residents will benefit from a simpler, unified waste collection service – and introducing food waste collections in Poole, bringing all our towns in line so everyone benefits from the same, reliable system.
We’re filling potholes – more than 2,500 of them, in fact, and we’ll do the same throughout 2026 to make roads better for everyone.
A pilot scheme to make charging electric vehicles easier from homes with no driveways, as well as hundreds of new public charge points, will make the switch to sustainable transport more affordable: and we’ve announced major Lane Rental Scheme proposals that, if approved, would cut roadwork disruption by up to 1/3.
We’re not shy about the challenges we, and many other local authorities face, but we are committed to delivering the best for our residents and finding solutions to protect services for those vulnerable residents, including children, who rely on them.
We are calling on Government to deliver a fairer financial settlement for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole - instead of asking us to do more whilst they provide less funding - and to urgently get to grips with the SEND crisis affecting councils across the country.
Despite those challenges, the evidence is quite clear: business vacancy rates are falling, visitors are returning more often, investment is increasing, new businesses are opening, and positive progress is being made across our three towns.
We’re working with all our partners to continue that momentum into 2026 and build a future where everyone can feel proud to call BCP their home.