Budget 2024/25

This consultation is now closed. The full consultation report is now available to view.

The Council will be discussing the 2024/25 budget at the following committees

Monday 29 January - Overview and Scrutiny Board 6pm
Wednesday 7 February - Cabinet 10.15pm
Tuesday 20 February - Full Council 7pm


We are asking council tax payers, residents, service users, community groups, Town and Parish Councils, businesses, and partner organisations to have your say on the work we are doing to prepare proposals to balance the council’s budget in 2024/25.

We are making positive progress to prepare proposals to balance the council’s budget for next financial year, but more work still needs to be done. As we continue this work, it is important we understand the impact of some of the proposals we are considering to bring forward, as some will mean changes to the services that we currently provide. No decisions have been made yet and this consultation is asking for your views on the budget as well potential changes in the following services:

  • Grounds Maintenance Service – we are proposing a review of the service which would impact on the number of times we cut the grass in some areas and a larger proportion of the BCP area would be left unmown, decorative planting, litter pickings and sports maintenance would also be impacted.
  • Christchurch Household Recycling Centre (HRC)– we are proposing to close Christchurch HRC on a Sunday and Monday.
  • Paddling Pools – we are proposing to work with partners to see if they can take on the running of the paddling pools in a community management arrangement. If we are unable to set up a community management transfer of the pools, then the council would look to close them.
  • Public Protection – we are proposing reductions in our public protection service which would limit the ability for teams to undertake proactive enforcement and will increase our response times. We would no longer deal with neighbour disputes, and it would take us longer to respond to things like noise nuisance complaints.
  • Community Safety Accreditation Scheme – we are proposing to remove our community safety officers from Poole Town Centre, Christchurch Town Centre and Boscombe.
  • CCTV – we are proposing to reduce live monitoring of the cameras by 15-30% and to seek support from partner agencies to fund the service.
  • Library opening hours - we are proposing to reduce opening hours in most of our libraries.
  • Street lighting - we are proposing to turn off streetlights after midnight to 6am on quieter residential roads within the Poole area.
  • School Crossing Patrol- we are proposing to remove school crossing patrols from locations that have existing crossing facilities and remove school crossing patrols from locations that, following a survey, do not meet the threshold for a patrol. Use capital funding to upgrade school crossing patrol sites so that there is a crossing facility at locations where needed.
  • Hengistbury Head Outdoor Education Centre - We are looking to transfer the facility and land to a community group under a development, management and maintenance lease arrangement or community asset transfer. If this cannot be achieved the site would need to close.

Please read the consultation document and share your views on our proposals and how they could affect you by completing our online survey.

Paper versions of the document and survey will be available in any BCP Council library.

The consultation will close at 11:59pm on Wednesday 20 December 2023.

This consultation is now closed. The full consultation report is now available to view.

The Council will be discussing the 2024/25 budget at the following committees

Monday 29 January - Overview and Scrutiny Board 6pm
Wednesday 7 February - Cabinet 10.15pm
Tuesday 20 February - Full Council 7pm


We are asking council tax payers, residents, service users, community groups, Town and Parish Councils, businesses, and partner organisations to have your say on the work we are doing to prepare proposals to balance the council’s budget in 2024/25.

We are making positive progress to prepare proposals to balance the council’s budget for next financial year, but more work still needs to be done. As we continue this work, it is important we understand the impact of some of the proposals we are considering to bring forward, as some will mean changes to the services that we currently provide. No decisions have been made yet and this consultation is asking for your views on the budget as well potential changes in the following services:

  • Grounds Maintenance Service – we are proposing a review of the service which would impact on the number of times we cut the grass in some areas and a larger proportion of the BCP area would be left unmown, decorative planting, litter pickings and sports maintenance would also be impacted.
  • Christchurch Household Recycling Centre (HRC)– we are proposing to close Christchurch HRC on a Sunday and Monday.
  • Paddling Pools – we are proposing to work with partners to see if they can take on the running of the paddling pools in a community management arrangement. If we are unable to set up a community management transfer of the pools, then the council would look to close them.
  • Public Protection – we are proposing reductions in our public protection service which would limit the ability for teams to undertake proactive enforcement and will increase our response times. We would no longer deal with neighbour disputes, and it would take us longer to respond to things like noise nuisance complaints.
  • Community Safety Accreditation Scheme – we are proposing to remove our community safety officers from Poole Town Centre, Christchurch Town Centre and Boscombe.
  • CCTV – we are proposing to reduce live monitoring of the cameras by 15-30% and to seek support from partner agencies to fund the service.
  • Library opening hours - we are proposing to reduce opening hours in most of our libraries.
  • Street lighting - we are proposing to turn off streetlights after midnight to 6am on quieter residential roads within the Poole area.
  • School Crossing Patrol- we are proposing to remove school crossing patrols from locations that have existing crossing facilities and remove school crossing patrols from locations that, following a survey, do not meet the threshold for a patrol. Use capital funding to upgrade school crossing patrol sites so that there is a crossing facility at locations where needed.
  • Hengistbury Head Outdoor Education Centre - We are looking to transfer the facility and land to a community group under a development, management and maintenance lease arrangement or community asset transfer. If this cannot be achieved the site would need to close.

Please read the consultation document and share your views on our proposals and how they could affect you by completing our online survey.

Paper versions of the document and survey will be available in any BCP Council library.

The consultation will close at 11:59pm on Wednesday 20 December 2023.

Page last updated: 24 Jan 2024, 12:00 PM