First ever Bournemouth Town Centre Citizens’ Panel prepares to finalise and share action plan

After working together for six months, Bournemouth Town Centre Citizens’ Panel gathered to finalise an action plan to improve the town in a first-of-its-kind approach to embedding residents’ voices. 

Set up in April by Bournemouth West MP Jessica Toale, responsible for the town centre, in collaboration with BCP Council Leader Millie Earl, the panel was designed as a new, innovative way to centre residents’ voices in the change we need to see. 

A group of 50 residents was randomly selected from around 250 applicants earlier this year. Panellists of different ages and backgrounds attended five sessions over a six-month period to learn more about the town centre and develop a shared plan. 

The final planned workshop, which took place at Patch on the first floor of Bobby’s on Saturday 15 November 2025, was a chance to discuss the ideas collated from previous sessions and prioritise ideas and next steps. 

“One of the most heartening things about the panel has been just how incredibly dedicated and meaningfully engaged people have been in this process,” said Jessica. “We've asked people to give up five of their Saturdays over six months and they've all come with a really positive approach, thinking about how we can solve challenges and what great ideas they can bring to the table.  

“At a time when we know people click on negative stories about the town, that positive approach has been amazing. People are really committed to this process. We asked residents who were involved at the last session who wanted to be involved for the longterm and everyone raised their hands. They want to be part of delivering the plan we've all developed together.” 

Panellist Matt Usher said: “This felt like an opportunity, in among all of the negativity to actually have a role, and have a voice, to be part of it and get us closer to a solution. It's been really interesting to meet different people with different perspectives.

"That's probably one of the strongest takeaways for me, you can surround yourself with the same types of voices and opinions and this has been a real eye-opener - but also a real indicator of how many people care and those ideas coming together to be something that's truly representative of our community. That's really surprised and reassured me about society, and where everyone's at.” 

Matt was one of around 30 of the panellists attended all - or most - of the sessions. After each session, attendance was cross-referenced with demographics to ensure it remained representative of the area. Where necessary, substitutes were made - with a few panellists selected at random and joining part-way through the process. 

Millie said: “What's been amazing about this is hearing from people who don't usually get involved in that process, people from different walks of life. I've loved being able to sit down and talk to young people about their experiences and they've been able to talk to us - a really positive way of communicating and creating something really collaborative.” 

Each panellist had a Town Centre Handbook and access to write ups from earlier sessions. They used these to help inform a deliverable action plan for the town. Shared ideas covered safety, events, and what to do about empty shops. The full action plan is now being drafted for sign-off by panellists this winter, and will be unveiled in the new year with details of who needs to do what to deliver it. 

Throughout the six-month process, the panel welcomed guests including town centre councillors James Martin and Hazel Allen, Dorset Police and Bournemouth Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID). It was designed flexibly by Richard Eastham, Bournemouth resident and expert urban planner who runs Feria Urbanism and has led similar initiatives in other towns across the country. 

“There's all these other projects that happen around town centres,” said Richard. “But the citizens’ panel approach is brand new for Bournemouth. It’s really exciting.”