Still no room for full meetings of BCP Council four years after creation

FOUR years after BCP Council was created there are still not enough seats for all 76 members to meet together.

The lack of space at Bournemouth town hall means only a few residents are able to see and hear what is happening at full meetings and some with disabilities would be unlikely to get in, writes Trevor Bevins of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Cllr George Farquhar (Labour) said at a scrutiny committee meeting the situation was a disgrace and accused the Conservative administration of lacking the will to solve the problems.

He rejected excuses that the building was listed, claiming that disability discrimination laws allows for adaptations.

He said: “Since our very first meeting [in 2019] I identified that accessing that chamber would be an issue.

"The world has moved on, but we haven’t.”

He added: “We say we’re putting people first – but we’re not demonstrating that."

Cllr Lawrence Williams described the public facilities as “uncomfortable – not what they should be”.

Cllr Steve Bartlett questioned whether the council had a plan for the work, saying: “It’s quite astounding that we don’t seem to know what is going on."

Council chief executive Graham Farrant said it was likely that if the council wants to meet together the only way to do it would be to bring in temporary chairs to the Bournemouth council chamber or meet elsewhere.