This milestone follows months of dedicated community engagement, with three consultation processes and over 200 responses – a clear sign of the appetite for greater local influence and collaboration.

For Councillor Sara Armstrong, Green ward councillor for East Cliff & Springbourne, this was an election pledge. She welcomed the decision and paid tribute to the many residents, officers and colleagues who contributed to this achievement.

Sara said: “This is a defining moment for East Cliff and Springbourne. It’s the result of tireless work by local people who care deeply about where they live – people who believe in a better future and want to shape it together.

“To everyone who took part: thank you for your time, your energy, and your belief in this process.”

Neighbourhood Planning empowers communities to influence land use, design and development in their area. It creates a structured, legally recognised platform to bring residents, businesses and organisations together around shared goals.

“This proposal isn’t about drawing lines, it’s about bringing people together,” Cllr Armstrong continued. “We are one community, facing shared challenges and holding shared hopes. This will give us the opportunity to respond collectively to the issues we face – from derelict buildings and anti-social behaviour, to the impact of unregulated Houses in Multiple Occupation and the need for safer, more inclusive neighbourhoods.”

The East Cliff & Springbourne Neighbourhood Forum builds on strong grassroots momentum, and means that a united, forward-looking vision for the area can now be created.

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Top photo: The Asda Foundation presenting a cheque to Friends of Knyveton & Spencer Gardens

Since being elected two years ago, hard-working Green Councillor for East Cliff & Springbourne, Sara Armstrong, has brought £103,400 of extra investment into our area. Sara has personally written and worked with local groups to make applications, resulting in securing grants, and Community Infrastructure funding levied from developers.

This is supporting projects that matter to local people – from safer parks and better bins, to improved green spaces and community facilities:

• £50,000 for Knyveton Gardens improvements to combat anti-social behaviour
• £20,000 for new play equipment in Springbourne Gardens
• £10,000 from the Prosperity Fund for district enhancements
• £12,000 helping deliver new outdoor equipment for Vale Lodge residents, play equipment and children’s area at the library
• £7,000 for extra security lighting, CCTV, electrics and sensory gardenupgrades at Knyveton Gardens in partnership with the Friends and Bowls Club
• £3,000 for new bins along the East Cliff
• £1,000 for pond improvements in the sensory gardens at Knyveton Gardens
• £400 for volunteers and events at Knyveton and Spencer Gardens
• £1,000 to help establish the Friends of East Cliff & Springbourne group to support local volunteering, future fundraising, and write grant applications.

Photo: The new Friends of East Cliff & Springbourne group – planning green space improvements, arts and heritage projects, community events and info

Sara said: “I’m proud to have secured this funding for our community. It’s a team effort and shows what we can achieve when we listen to local people and work together. This is just the beginning.”

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Sara commented: “There’s still much to do, but we’re moving forward despite financial pressures at the Council.”
A cleaner, safer East Cliff is taking shape. Now the newly established East Cliff Action Group is stepping up, and inviting volunteers to drive local improvements and community pride.

• Contact Sara to get involved

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Now, all Knyveton Gardens entrances have new signage, a new bin has replaced one damaged by fireworks, and the sensory gardens have had a ‘haircut’ with flowering plants returning. A Nature Walk, a table tennis table and children’s activity items are on the way. There’s more voluntary work going on in the park. Renovations to the community shed continue, alongside general upkeep.

Meanwhile Spencer Gardens had a Spring trim.

The Friends have won further funding from both the Asda Foundation and Wessex Water, in bids written with Sara.

Follow them: facebook.com/KnyvetonSpencerGardens

Cllr Armstrong has worked with neighbourhood police on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in the vicinity. They have adopted a “Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment plan”, tasked a new neighbourhood officer, and changed CCTV.

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Green Councillor for East Cliff & Springbourne, Sara Armstrong, told the Bournemouth Daily Echo: “King’s Park was part of my childhood – a place where I found freedom, friendship and imagination. For many families, especially those living in flats or without gardens, spaces like Kings Park are not luxuries. They are essential for a healthy, happy childhood.”

Happily, BCP Council has a plan for change. Sara has received confirmation from staff of a £200,000 investment to completely redesign and rebuild King’s Park play park. A full Council consultation of the local community is in progress this summer. 

Sara commented: “I’ll keep pushing to make sure the process is inclusive, transparent, and delivers a space our community can be proud of.”

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However only 20-25 such requests are granted each year in BCP.

The post East Cliff & Springbourne roads improvement requests go forward appeared first on Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Green Party.

She highlighted concerns in East Cliff over:

• disposable BBQs,
• inadequate facilities,
• general neglect of public spaces,
• parking enforcement and management,
• accessible toilets and beachfront access, and
• inaction over restoring the long-disused East Cliff lift.

The post Sara Armstrong presses East Cliff beach concerns with BCP Council bosses appeared first on Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Green Party.

Sara’s letter to David Sidwick

“Domestic abuse is far too common in the UK, and its harmful impacts on survivors can extend to many areas of their lives, including mental health, physical wellbeing, family safety, housing and homelessness.

Latest figures estimate that Over 2 million women are victims of violence perpetrated by men each year in an epidemic that’s become so serious, police chiefs are calling it a “national emergency” and are treating it as a “national threat”.

Crimes including stalking, harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence affect one in 12 women in England and Wales, with the number of recorded offences growing by 37% in the past five years and the perpetrators of domestic violence getting younger.

One in 6 homicides are related to domestic violence.

20% of all police recorded crimes are counted as violence against women.

1 in 4 women in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse in their life time and it can take a woman 7 attempts before they can leave for good.

Domestic violence due to its very nature is massively unreported, on average victims experience 35 incidences of abuse before reporting to the police and 50 incidents before they get effective help. It’s estimated that 3 women a week die from suicide as a result of domestic violence and 8 women a month are murdered by their male partner or ex partner.

Some factors that have been attributed to the rise in violence against women and girls include:

Misogynistic online content, the failure of existing systems to protect women, and the increase in the numbers of young men being radicalised.

These national figures are extremely alarming and demonstrate that law enforcement alone will not tackle the scale of this. It’s going to take a societal shift.

This brings me to what are we doing closer to home to tackle this epidemic and what do we know about the scale and impact of it on our residents? How much of a priority is it for you?

What data do we have for BCP and how do we compare with the national picture?

Do we have a full understanding of the scale of the problem and the root causes in our communities? How many women in BCP are affected?

What does a whole systems approach look like and what progress is being made to drive standards and consistency forwards across BCP?

What resources are in place and are they sufficient to meet such a growing need?

What actions do we need the government to take?

Domestic violence destroys lives and it needs to stop. We will not tolerate it in our communities.”

Cllr Sara Armstrong

Help with domestic abuse – BCP Council webpage

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Neighbourhood plans can benefit communities in many ways:

Additional resources
More CIL monies and an evidence base to bid for more much needed resources for our ward.

Community ownership
Neighbourhood plans give communities more say in shaping their local area’s development and growth.

Local issues
Communities can gain a better understanding of local issues and how to address them.

Community engagement
Neighbourhood planning can bring a community together.

Vision
Communities can establish a vision for their area, including what they want their neighbourhood to look like in the future.

Planning policies
Communities can influence planning policies that set out where new development should be located and how it should be designed.

Local green spaces
Communities can identify and protect local green spaces.

Certainty
Neighbourhood plans can provide greater certainty for developers and communities about the allocation of housing sites.

Quality development
Neighbourhood plans can improve the quality of development and help to respond better to the character and heritage of local areas.

Sara adds: “In a short video filmed last year I introduced the value of Neighbourhood Plans and my commitments to our community.

The post Sara Armstrong explains the benefits of the proposed East Cliff & Springbourne neighbourhood plan appeared first on Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Green Party.

King’s Park lies in the westernmost corner of Littledown & Iford ward, but bordering both East Cliff & Springbourne and Boscombe.

The full reply:

We are working with the suppliers of the play equipment to see if any short term remedies can be found to get some equipment back in to use. As you will be aware, with a spending freeze that includes basic maintenance of play areas, we are very limited in what we can currently do. Unfortunately, this means we are having to fence off play equipment.

We are writing a ‘Play Plan’, a strategy to support BCP Council’s 179 individual spaces with play facilities. Through the strategy, we will understand the needs and required investment of these spaces and be able to advocate for funding and start investing in these important spaces.

A masterplan for Kings Park has long been on the project list to support future design and infrastructure decisions. This is not currently being progressed and we have been expecting the football club to bring forward new stadium plans.”

Play Strategy aiming for December Cabinet meeting. Engagement being planned with Councillors before that.

I’ve contacted Neighbourhood Planning to ask if an extension to the neighbourhood plan area to include the western part of the park is even possible due to the added complexity of the ward boundaries and if so, would that support the direction of CIL monies in the short term?

I understand that applications will be made to the strategic CIL funds (bigger separate pot) to support the investment case of the Play plan strategy and will also rely on external or alternative funding too.

The consultation closes soon on October 7th.

https://haveyoursay.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ecs-forum-area

Would be great to hear your thoughts.

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