The heritage of Poole
As a past sheriff and Mayor of Poole and an active member of Ten Society for Poole, I am very keen to see the heritage of our wonderful town preserved for future generations. This includes the civic heritage and the civic offices. I appreciate that the heritage is included in the vision document, but I don't feel that it has been used to good effect in Poole.
The amalgamation of the three towns into one council took place with little public consultation and has resulted in large changes to the civic life in Poole. The civic centre was quickly abandoned and all of the civic regalia removed and taken to Bournemouth town hall. The civic part of the building was stripped of all its historic honours boards and the Mayors parlour abandoned with all the contents removed and put into storage. This included paintings, trophies, a silver bugle presented to the town by The Rifles when they were given the Freedom of the Town. There was also a wooden oar on one wall inscribed with the words, "In case you find yourself up the creek without one!" Both items, as well as the naming of the conference suite HMS Cattistock after the minesweeper of the same name, are clear indications of Poole's connections to the armed forces.
The Cattistock suite and the council chamber had boards going back centuries, recording the names of past Mayors and Sheriffs. This is despite the words on the official listing of the civic centre, the listing of which was gained by The Society for Poole. This clearly states,
"The list entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historical interest. Unless the list entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building. For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1948." The civic centre was completed in the year 1932.
I appreciate that a Charter Trust has been set up to deal with all civic matters, but it is not able to maintain the civic offices as they have been over many years. It seems that they meet behind closed doors, and the once public ceremonies, such as the annual mayor making are not now open to the public. The mayor is no longer the first citizen of Poole, that now being the Chair of BCP council, except in Christchurch, where they have formed a Town Council. Past mayors were always invited to civic events, such as the annual church service and parade, the remembrance day parade and the mayor making ceremony. That is now no more. It would also appear that the Charter Trustees are effectively homeless, having lost all the facilities in the civic centre, The Mayor no longer has a base to welcome VIP's and other visitors to the town. The cessation of certain events, such as regalia talks are not now possible as all of the regalia and historic artefacts are stored in Bournemouth Town Hall. This is a great loss to the people of Poole having lost the ability to explain the history and the uses of various articles such as the maces, civic chains of office, etc.
The 'Welcome to Poole' signs have been removed, whilst the Welcome to Bournemouth signs remain. This gives the impression that Poole has become just a suburb of Bournemouth. In view of all the above, I am researching the possibility of forming a Poole Town Council for which I already have some support. I will be liaising with the LGA for advice and guidance, as well as various established Town Councils in Dorset.