Welcome from Millie Earl, Leader of BCP Council

As anyone who lives and works in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole knows, ours is a special place – a unique blend of outstanding natural environment, proud heritage and diverse, vibrant communities.

Our three vibrant towns and our many local neighbourhood centres each bring individual strengths to create a place where people and nature flourish with a thriving economy in a healthy, natural environment.

Our residents have a strong sense of pride and belonging and our businesses are committed to growth and investment in the area. Our partners across the public sector, charities and community groups all want to see our people and region flourish and we’re working together to achieve that ambition.

BCP Council has grown to become a forward-thinking, modern, innovative organisation designed to meet the future needs of our residents, businesses and partners. Our Transformation Programme is almost complete, embedding new systems, data-led decision-making and efficiencies across all departments, while also achieving considerable savings.

But more than the new processes, structures and approach – we’ve built a council that puts people at the heart of all we do, listens and acts on feedback, and works with partners to make the most of all our strengths.

We’re open, transparent and accountable and don’t shy away from challenges as we strive to get the best for our residents.

And we’ve established the building blocks of a clear vision and strategy, sound financial management and a positive workplace culture.

The results of this hard work are starting to show. Our Children’s Services leaped from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’ in just three years, we’re one of six flagship locations for Homewards (the Royal Foundation’s programme to end homelessness) and we won the MJ Award for Best Transport Decarbonisation Project in 2023.

We’ve built strong foundations – now we want to move forward with our agenda of sustainable and inclusive growth, place-based regeneration and community-focused development.

We know we will face more challenges in the future – from funding SEND and understanding changes to the social care sector, to building houses within the geographical restraints of our area. We need to keep scanning the horizon and working with Government to understand the national changes that could affect our local residents, businesses and partners. We’ve worked hard to build an open and productive relationship with MHCLG and want that to continue.

So we’re looking for a Chief Executive who can take forward our sustainable growth agenda, proactively engage with our communities and partners, and negotiate our complex political environment.

Most of all, we want someone who will be as passionate about our towns, natural environment and local democracy as we are.

Millie Earl
Leader of BCP Council