East Cliff & Springbourne Neighbourhood Forum and Area Designation Consultation

BCP Council has received two different proposals for a neighbourhood forum and area designation within the East Cliff and Springbourne Ward and a small area of the Bournemouth Town Centre ward.

  • One proposal called ‘East Cliff Neighbourhood Forum and Area Designation’ has a boundary that is based on the existing East Cliff Conservation Area. This includes some of the coastal/cliff top area of the East Cliff and Springbourne ward area and a small area of the eastern end of the Bournemouth Town Centre ward.
  • The second proposal called ‘East Cliff and Springbourne Neighbourhood Forum and Area Designation’ includes a small area of the eastern end of the Bournemouth Town Centre ward, which is based on the existing East Cliff Conservation Area boundary and the rest of the East Cliff and Springbourne ward area (minus an area north of the Wessex Way which is in the Queens Park and Charminster Neighbourhood Plan area).

Two community groups have submitted these separate proposals to BCP Council. The council must decide about which, if any, of the proposals to take forward. On this page you will find details of the East Cliff and Springbourne proposal and on this web page you will find details of the East Cliff proposal.

Before any decisions are made the council would like to hear the views of the local community.

Have your say by reading the information and completing the survey by Monday 7 April.


Neighbourhood Forums work with local communities to prepare Neighbourhood Plans for their area and forum designations last for five years.

On 26 January 2025, a proposed new neighbourhood planning group applied to BCP Council to be designated as a neighbourhood forum, to operate as a qualifying body for the purposes of preparing a Neighbourhood Plan, in accordance with s61F Town and Country Planning Act 1990(External link)(External link) and s8 Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012(External link).

Neighbourhood forums must be able to demonstrate that they have a written constitution to describe the basic framework of the organisation including its purpose, membership rules and election of officers. The neighbourhood planning legislation and regulations state that Forums must have at least 21 members who are individuals, either living, working within the area of the neighbourhood forum, or are elected members of the authority concerned.

The proposed East Cliff & Springbourne Forum has submitted an application to be designated as a neighbourhood forum within a defined area boundary.

Please note: We are also running a consultation on the East Cliff Neighbourhood Forum application whose neighbourhood boundary overlaps with the part of the proposed East Cliff and Springbourne Neighbourhood Forum area. To ensure transparency, both consultations will run at the same time to provide an opportunity for representations to be made on both applications. Only one neighbourhood forum can be designated for one area, therefore please review both applications, before making your representations.

To view a large version of the map showing the proposed area, where you can zoom in and out click here

















The information submitted to the council comprises of:

  • A covering letter received by email on 26 January 2025
  • A combined application form for neighbourhood forum and area designation including a list of 23 stakeholders
  • A map of the East Cliff & Springbourne Neighbourhood area boundary
  • A written Constitution of the proposed neighbourhood forum and membership details
  • A Statement of Mission and Vision setting out how the forum is established for the purpose of promoting or improving the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the area, incorporating requirements contained in section 61F(5) Schedule 9 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Please note that if the neighbourhood forum’s status is approved by the council, no other organisation may be designated as a neighbourhood forum for the purposes of the Localism Act 2011(External link) and the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012(External link) for that neighbourhood area until the designation expires or is withdrawn. This will only affect the ability to exercise neighbourhood planning powers and will not affect the existence or creation of any other neighbourhood community voluntary or charitable organisations in the area.

Have Your Say

We are asking for views and comments from residents and other interested parties on the proposed forum’s application for qualifying body status and their neighbourhood area boundary. Your views should consider whether this forum should be designated for the purposes of preparing a neighbourhood plan for the proposed neighbourhood area.

During the consultation period, you can view East Cliff & Springbourne’s application and supporting documents in the 'Documents' section of this page and at:

Your comments must be received by us within the consultation period which runs for six weeks from 24 February to 7 April 2025. You can make representations by:

If you have any questions, need support or need the documents in a different format please email neighbourhoodplanning@bcpcouncil.gov.uk(External link). You can also refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 7 April 2025.


Next steps

All comments received during the consultation period will be considered and will feed into our formal decision-making process. If the council approves the application, the East Cliff and Springbourne Neighbourhood Forum will be able to operate as a qualifying body, for the purpose of neighbourhood planning in the designated area for a period of five years.

BCP Council has received two different proposals for a neighbourhood forum and area designation within the East Cliff and Springbourne Ward and a small area of the Bournemouth Town Centre ward.

  • One proposal called ‘East Cliff Neighbourhood Forum and Area Designation’ has a boundary that is based on the existing East Cliff Conservation Area. This includes some of the coastal/cliff top area of the East Cliff and Springbourne ward area and a small area of the eastern end of the Bournemouth Town Centre ward.
  • The second proposal called ‘East Cliff and Springbourne Neighbourhood Forum and Area Designation’ includes a small area of the eastern end of the Bournemouth Town Centre ward, which is based on the existing East Cliff Conservation Area boundary and the rest of the East Cliff and Springbourne ward area (minus an area north of the Wessex Way which is in the Queens Park and Charminster Neighbourhood Plan area).

Two community groups have submitted these separate proposals to BCP Council. The council must decide about which, if any, of the proposals to take forward. On this page you will find details of the East Cliff and Springbourne proposal and on this web page you will find details of the East Cliff proposal.

Before any decisions are made the council would like to hear the views of the local community.

Have your say by reading the information and completing the survey by Monday 7 April.


Neighbourhood Forums work with local communities to prepare Neighbourhood Plans for their area and forum designations last for five years.

On 26 January 2025, a proposed new neighbourhood planning group applied to BCP Council to be designated as a neighbourhood forum, to operate as a qualifying body for the purposes of preparing a Neighbourhood Plan, in accordance with s61F Town and Country Planning Act 1990(External link)(External link) and s8 Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012(External link).

Neighbourhood forums must be able to demonstrate that they have a written constitution to describe the basic framework of the organisation including its purpose, membership rules and election of officers. The neighbourhood planning legislation and regulations state that Forums must have at least 21 members who are individuals, either living, working within the area of the neighbourhood forum, or are elected members of the authority concerned.

The proposed East Cliff & Springbourne Forum has submitted an application to be designated as a neighbourhood forum within a defined area boundary.

Please note: We are also running a consultation on the East Cliff Neighbourhood Forum application whose neighbourhood boundary overlaps with the part of the proposed East Cliff and Springbourne Neighbourhood Forum area. To ensure transparency, both consultations will run at the same time to provide an opportunity for representations to be made on both applications. Only one neighbourhood forum can be designated for one area, therefore please review both applications, before making your representations.

To view a large version of the map showing the proposed area, where you can zoom in and out click here

















The information submitted to the council comprises of:

  • A covering letter received by email on 26 January 2025
  • A combined application form for neighbourhood forum and area designation including a list of 23 stakeholders
  • A map of the East Cliff & Springbourne Neighbourhood area boundary
  • A written Constitution of the proposed neighbourhood forum and membership details
  • A Statement of Mission and Vision setting out how the forum is established for the purpose of promoting or improving the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the area, incorporating requirements contained in section 61F(5) Schedule 9 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Please note that if the neighbourhood forum’s status is approved by the council, no other organisation may be designated as a neighbourhood forum for the purposes of the Localism Act 2011(External link) and the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012(External link) for that neighbourhood area until the designation expires or is withdrawn. This will only affect the ability to exercise neighbourhood planning powers and will not affect the existence or creation of any other neighbourhood community voluntary or charitable organisations in the area.

Have Your Say

We are asking for views and comments from residents and other interested parties on the proposed forum’s application for qualifying body status and their neighbourhood area boundary. Your views should consider whether this forum should be designated for the purposes of preparing a neighbourhood plan for the proposed neighbourhood area.

During the consultation period, you can view East Cliff & Springbourne’s application and supporting documents in the 'Documents' section of this page and at:

Your comments must be received by us within the consultation period which runs for six weeks from 24 February to 7 April 2025. You can make representations by:

If you have any questions, need support or need the documents in a different format please email neighbourhoodplanning@bcpcouncil.gov.uk(External link). You can also refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 7 April 2025.


Next steps

All comments received during the consultation period will be considered and will feed into our formal decision-making process. If the council approves the application, the East Cliff and Springbourne Neighbourhood Forum will be able to operate as a qualifying body, for the purpose of neighbourhood planning in the designated area for a period of five years.

Page last updated: 06 Mar 2025, 03:46 PM