We are now squarely on track for Christmas with both Halloween and Bonfire Night behind us. That said, autumn colours are still much in evidence, plus, we have also enjoyed some sunshine in recent days, a welcome contrast to pitch of winter evenings. Would it not be great if our street and chine lighting was appropriately maintained?
This leads us to the ever-present question of financial pressures that challenge all local authorities, ours in particular. It is crucial that residents have access to the facts enabling voluntary associations to voice collective concerns. BCP refutes claims that it has failed to press Government for support in addressing unprecedented financial pressures facing local authorities. The local press has highlighted the much discussed no confidence vote in BCP’s leader, Mille Earle. MPs have loudly criticised our council leader amid calls to resign | Bournemouth Echo 03 November.
In short, non-political associations such as ours and our sister resident associations do not voice partisan opinions, lobby or actively support a particular political group. Rather by keeping abreast of agendas, ensuring our access to the facts, we remain equipped to voice our evidenced concerns. We fulfil our purpose as an association.
This last month has seen structural changes which merit mention. One is the changes in the planning process, with lower-complexity level decisions made entirely by planning officers rather than public planning committees. This has led to the loss of public and councillor triggers. ‘Councillor call-ins’ where local representatives could pull a project into public debate, have been removed. An application will only now go to committee if both a senior planning officer and the committee chair agree it has unusual significance for the locality. The second is the CIL process. Our Ward Councillor, John Challinor, thoughtfully alerted us to the latest round which is the last of BCP neighbourhood CIL before it moves to the Town Council. You can read the details here.
Our sights have been on the zigzag from Pinecliff Gardens to the Promenade, built by Welsh Miners and currently in need of restoration. To realise a bid to secure CIL funding for this requires a community-minded volunteer to come forward to lead this.
Once again, may I stress the need for volunteers to fill the ongoing gaps in BPCCRA’s Executive Committee: Treasurer, Honorary Secretary, Planning Officer, Safety & Special Projects Officer, Events Coordinator and Database Coordinator. We also need volunteers to join our stalwart gardening group. Without this essential support, BPCCRA will not be able to flourish going forward. The situation will challenge further as we move into next year and the already announced retirement of further officers. If you are interested please contact me directly chairbpccra@pinesandchines.co.uk
Our recent ‘theme’ approach to Open Meetings, offered a presentation last month by Julian Okoye, Infrastructure and Environmental Engagement Lead for Wessex Water. As expected, the evening covered the services provided by Wessex together with current challenges within the overall context of the industry. BPCCRA’s Senior Advisor, Roy Pointer generously led the evening which I was unfortunately unable to join. I am currently dealing with challenging health issues which severely restrict my social engagements. Our ‘water’ evening has received positive comments encouraging us to progress this format.
We have had our church hall environment for some time but feel that the change of format warrants a change of setting. We will thus hold our next Open Meeting at Outlaw House Canford Cliffs, 47 Haven Rd, Poole BH13 7LH, on Wednesday, December 9 from 7.30-9.00pm. Our theme is ‘Planning’ and further details will be in our December Newsletter. Parking is available. This is our Christmas ‘Conversation,’ with a festive bite to eat provided and drinks available to purchase. The event is for BPCCRA members only, who will be asked to sign in on arrival. We’re mirroring the very successful format adopted by Dorset Lakes with this trial.
The Winter edition of Pines and Chines is now available and our team of wardens are completing their deliveries. We note there are a small number of residents for whom we lack complete addresses; for example, a street number may be missing. Should you not have received your copy as a member do let us know by dropping an email to ed.pinesandchines@icloud.com. This will enable us to update our systems and ensure all members receive their magazines. We also have certain streets without wardens as people retire, move on, are less mobile or indeed leave this world. We do hope volunteers will come forward to take on this twice yearly task once we have completed a full review of gaps and publicise these.
Last but not least, thanks also to all those who continue to volunteer their time and energy to furthering the Association. Again, we urge others to come forward and engage.
Correction: Winter edition Pines and Chines
On page 50 of the Winter 2026 edition, Neil Duncan-Jordan MP’s political affiliation was incorrectly listed as Reform UK. Neil is the Labour MP for Poole. We apologise for the error.
Andrea Charman
Chair, BPCCRA
chairbpccra@pinesandchines.co.uk
November 2026
