On 1st April 2019, the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council was formally established. This marks the start of an exciting new chapter in Dorset’s history, the likes of which, has never been done before on this scale.
In October last year, BECG held an event alongside Intelligent Land to enable top industry professionals from the built environment to come together with leading members of the councils to discuss the upcoming merger and what this would mean for future planning and development across the conurbation. The key discussions at the event centered around the planning process, delivery of affordable housing and regeneration. The council leaders also provided attendees a chance to give feedback on the experiences that developers had with the planning system and ideas as to how it could work better.
At the time, there was still a large amount of uncertainty regarding the workings of the council once merged, including how the planning system would work. BECG believes the merger will afford the opportunity to improve the growth and experiences of the development industry across the conurbation by streamlining the process and creating a more strategic view on how development will unfold, and the potential to reduce the influence of political “NIMBYism” in planning.
Now, six months on, the councils have officially merged into the BCP Council, with the first round of elections due to take place in May 2019. Whilst the official corporate leadership has not been determined and will likely be confirmed in the wake of the election, the shadow authority can give us a likely indication of the direction the BCP Council is heading.
In June 2019, BECG will host a second roundtable, which will provide another chance for the industry to get an update, along with some important insight on the new council and the progress of its vision for planning and development in the conurbation following on from the local election. The roundtable will take place on Thursday 20th June 2019 at the Sandbanks Hotel at 8:30am and breakfast will be provided.
If you would like to attend this roundtable then please email hannah.anderson@becg.com. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
Event details:
BCP Council Update
Breakfast roundtable on Thursday 20th June 2019, 8.30am
Sandbanks Hotel, 15 Banks Road, Poole BH13 7PS
