Paddling pool in Bournemouth threatened with council cuts

A paddling pool in Bournemouth is threatened by the BCP council's proposed cuts.

Thirty two million pounds of cutbacks to services have been suggested by the council.

These have been put forward in order to balance the council's budget for the next financial year.

It currently manages two public pools: one in Redhill park and one in Christchurch.

The councillors are looking to get partners to take over running them.

However if they can't, they say the pools may be closed.

This comes to the concern of residents in this area.

Tanita Matthews, a Bournemouth resident, said: "I think it's a terrible idea closing the pool, as you have quite a lot of families in this area, and if we have learned anything from covid, it's that people are lacking in outdoor spaces.

"To close the pools is then taking away a public amenity."

This is part of a range of changes the council is looking to make.

It is looking for residents to give feedback on these.

Other cuts have been proposed, such as reducing library opening times and reducing live CCTV monitoring by 15-30%.

A document outlining all of these has been put up on the council website.

They have set up an online survey for locals to fill out.

You can access this survey at: haveyoursay.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/budget