GROWING up here, I have seen Bournemouth change a lot over the last 30 years or so. And sadly not for the better.

BCP uses “the coast with the most” as its marketing slogan, but they don’t actually qualify what “the most” is referring to: Is it the addicts? Vandalism? Graffiti? Inflated house prices? Beach litter? Perhaps the increasing crime and violence? Definitely potholes.

Decades of poor leadership and a vocal segment of the populous have created an inward-looking town stuck in a past it can’t recapture. It’s no wonder it is sliding down the rankings on every metric, attracting more undesirable clientele, and pushing young families, businesses and professionals out. As the cliche goes: adapt or die. It seems Bournemouth chose the latter.

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Faced with the growing lack of opportunities here, we’re relocating to a city of similar size and population to BCP, but with a completely different attitude.

It has acres of green urban space, award-winning parks, a huge town-centre regeneration project aimed at creating pleasant, walkable public spaces free of pollution and noise. It funds this through congestion charging, clean air zones and residential parking permits, while providing efficient, cheap public transport in an integrated system designed to enable people to move around the city with ease and without the need for a car. Meanwhile, BCP remains some of the most congested urban area in the UK, with roads clogged, potholes everywhere, and a constant cycle of roadworks to cope with increasing traffic and heavy vehicles.

More lanes, more car parks and more car-centric design never works and will never work. It is empirically proven in a phenomena known as “induced demand”.

Look at successful town regenerations around the globe and it's clear what happens when you remove car dependency.

It breathes new life, almost literally, back into urban centres by creating pleasant public spaces people want and can visit with ease. Populations become physically and mentally healthier, with better social outcomes as a result. Wealth flows in, and there are lower crime and antisocial behaviour rates due to a higher volume of people. Put simply, attractive places attract people. It's as simple as that. And it is why so many towns are taking this approach.

But this isn’t just about cars and road use, it is about attitudes and vision.

Seaside towns need to be ambitious to survive. Look at successful seaside towns and you see a common thread: weekly festivals, arts and crafts fairs, indoor and outdoor food markets, music events, award winning street murals, public sculpture, cultural institutions basing themselves there, and a whole host of amenities and attractions for locals and tourists to enjoy.

Contrast this with BCP. Claiming “seven miles of beach” to justify people visiting, while simultaneously allowing the town centre to die from lack of easy access, events, culture, retail, food and drink options. If it rains, there is essentially nothing to do in Bournemouth, especially as a tourist.

You can’t rely solely on a beach to carry this town through fickle summer weather, let alone six months of winter. Even on sunny days and warm evenings, there is very little to truly capitalise on visitor spending; we could have a stunning, palm-lined promenade between the two piers, filled with cafes, bars, stalls, attractions and places to sit and relax.

Instead it's another road and car park! It could and should be so much more with a bit of ambition.

Bournemouth needs to join the 21st century. It needs young families, young workers and young professionals to provide income, life and labour to function effectively, year-round. If you continue to make it unpleasant for these demographics, then they will vote with their feet and move elsewhere; to cities and towns with forward facing attitudes that offer them opportunities, culture and life.

H Penrose

Meyrick Court