Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole | Posted on March 14th, 2025 | return to news
Regeneration planned for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
More than £24 million is to be spent on priorities in the three towns, including Bearwood and Merley education provision.
If a future full BCP Council meeting is in agreement, more than £24m is to be spent to regenerate Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and to provide housing.
The funding is additional to existing expenditure and comes from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) — a planning charge paid by developers which enables councils to reinvest funds into vital projects and infrastructure to benefit communities.
More than £29m of this funding is available for BCP Council to spend over the next five years and the Cabinet has outlined four priority areas to invest £24m; the remaining £5m of funds will be left unallocated for discretionary spend.
The four priorities are:
- Poole Bridge to Hunger Hill flood defence scheme
- Habitats site mitigation strategies
- Transport
- Bearwood and Merley education provision
It also supports the delivery of new homes to Poole town centre. The £7.3m approved for Poole’s flood defences means the council would receive a vital multi-million pound grant from the Environment Agency – crucial for protecting the coastline from flooding erosion.
The flood defence scheme will protect homes at risk of tidal flooding and unlock land for regeneration in Poole.
Habitats site mitigation strategies enable the Council to offset negative impacts of development on wildlife and, ultimately, will allow the council to grant planning permission for more new homes.
Cllr Millie Earl, leader of BCP Council, said: “Strategic CIL funding is a vital capital pot, not at the cost of taxpayers, which allows us as a council to re-invest money into projects that we know will benefit communities.
“I am really pleased that we’ve been able to set out a vision for the next five years as to where this money will be spent — helping to deliver brand new houses and educational provisions for future generations.
“We will also invest this money into ensuring our coastline is protected as well as delivering important maintenance to transport infrastructure across our three towns.”
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