There was a buzz of anticipation at the first of six Bournemouth Town Centre Citizens’ Panel sessions - a collaboration between Bournemouth West MP Jessica Toale, BCP Council and Pier Journal.

These workshops are bringing together 50 residents from diverse backgrounds, genders, ages, and postcodes, to create an action plan for regenerating the area. We caught up with some of the panel, to hear their hopes for the coming months.

The panel mingled at Patch in Bobby’s, getting to know one another and settling into the setup for the next five months. Across the course of these sessions, they’ll be working with Bournemouth Labour MP, Jessica Toale, and BCP Council Leader, Millie Earl, to create a plan of action. Jessica said:

“This is deeply personal for me. I wanted to harness the energy I was seeing at events and the desire people have to be part of a better future for Bournemouth.”

We spoke with everyone from students to pensioners, members of the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalised communities, shop owners, people who have seen Bournemouth change across the decades, and people who have only recently put down roots here. Each voice in the room represented a diverse cross-section of the town.

Maria, a mum of two, applied to be on the panel as a way to make a difference to her children. She said: “I’ve lived here forever and now my two children are growing up here. It's nice to make a difference for them in a small part of the world you can reach and it’s good to be part of something where you feel like your opinion matters.”

Many of the panelists want to reignite Bournemouth’s spark. The first session was about mapping out strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Amongst residents there were common concerns about crime and safety, as well as how our town is portrayed in the news.

Others expressed their worries about the death of the high street, especially those who work in retail. Keith has been trading in Bournemouth for 37 years and has been directly hit by things over the past five years. He said: “Rent has gone up by 300% this year, overheads are expensive and retailers are wondering if it’s feasible to carry on. It’s not looking particularly rosy for retail at the moment. I’m here with an open mind and Jessica is trying to make a real change. Things need to be done and if they’re not, then this town will be ground down.”

But amongst the negatives, people were there for a positive reason. Lottie who works in the arts felt like that in itself is a great first step. She said: “We’ve all put ourselves forward because we’re passionate about the town and we want to see it improved. I’ve only lived here a year and a half but I have a lot of great memories of coming here as a child. When I moved here, it was sad to see how it had deteriorated, but this is about wanting to be part of something positive that supports change.”

It’s clear that much of BCP needs a glow up, but panelists also highlighted the town's strengths - the beautiful buildings and beaches, our renowned arts university, iconic landmarks, and our rich cultural history as a wellness town.

Hosted by urban planner, Richard Eastman, the panel members worked together to map out areas of the town and the issues within each area. The group thought hard about Bournemouth’s identity, zooming in on areas including the seafront, The Triangle, Old Christchurch Road, the town centre, and Lansdowne. The hope is that the panel will visit some of these focus areas over the coming sessions and look more closely at opportunities for improvement.

The workshop ended with a “day in the life of Bournemouth” activity, where the panelists looked at what a typical day in the town centre looks like. Richard said: “It’s interesting to see how the town wakes up, gets busy, peaks in the afternoon as shops start to close and restaurants begin to open. That rhythm is part of what makes a place attractive.”

Overall there was a sense of excitement for what’s to come and the agenda for the next session lies in the hands of the panelists. Jessica, who is tired of bad news in the area, hopes that these 50 individuals will become ambassadors for our town which needs a little extra love.

Watch this space for reports from future sessions.

Pier Journal supports the launch of Bournemouth Town Centre Citizens' Panel

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