23 December 2020
Simon Bull, Green Party councillor for Winton East, has accepted from Bournemouth & Poole Greenpeace volunteers a Christmas card which calls for BCP Council to make permanent all of the experimental Active Travel schemes. The card was handed over at a Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme in Winton.
18 December 2020
BCP councillors voted unanimously on 8th December to pass an anti-Islamophobia resolution. The Council has now adopted a widely recognised definition of Islamophobia as rooted in racism, committed to regular race equality training, and reaffirmed its active commitment to eliminate discrimination. The cross-party motion was proposed by Conservative Leader of the Council, Drew Mellor, and seconded by Green Councillor Chris Rigby, with input also from Labour, Liberal Democrat and independent councillors.
16 December 2020
A call for public feedback on Transforming Travel in BCP closes this Friday, 18th Dec. BCP Council has been allocated £100m of Government funding from the Transforming Cities Fund for major upgrades to sustainable local transport options (cycling, walking, and buses) on key arterial routes. The funding is conditional on the Council tapping the local knowledge of individual residents, on what exactly they need where they are to make sustainable transport options truly viable, attractive and safe.
09 December 2020
Badger culling is to be banned on BCP Council land, following a vote by councillors last night in favour of a motion seconded by Green Councillor Chris Rigby. The vote also secures access for local wildlife professionals for badger vaccination, and joint biosecurity working against Bovine TB transmission.
08 December 2020
Bournemouth residents have responded on Facebook and Twitter to a local Green Party shoutout about the impact of the reopening of Leven Avenue to two-way traffic. The new BCP Council administration has decided to remove certain traffic-calming "Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders" (ETROs), including this one, which had been cutting out local rat-running.
28 November 2020
After weeks of campaigning by local resident Alasdair Keddie, a CCTV camera has been installed at the hotspot for open drug use and fly-tipping by the Wessex Way footbridge, at the bottom of Shelbourne and Capstone Roads in Charminster, with signage on the approaches. It will be actively monitored 24/7.
25 November 2020
New Conservative administration drop key Council pledge from Climate and Ecological Emergency declaration and misrepresent former Unity Alliance decisions to justify shelving plans for broader public participation.
24 November 2020
The first BCP Council meeting since the Conservative takeover has attracted questions from 27 members of the local public concerned about the future of local Climate & Ecological Emergency action. The Conservative Cabinet is required to respond, as part of the process of the 24th November Full Council meeting.
12 November 2020
There have been worrying signs of backtracking on local Climate & Ecological Emergency action since the Conservatives took control of BCP Council on 1st October. Public pressure is needed now, to show the Cabinet the strength of public support for serious climate action, and the political cost to them if they turn away from it.
30 October 2020
"Is it OK for an elected official to post something on their private social media profile, or private chat group, that other people might find offensive?" BCP Green Councillor Chris Rigby was interviewed on this topic by Alun Newman on BBC Radio Solent's Breakfast on 14th October 2020.