Bournemouth is keen on keeping the building of new buildings as low as possible, encouraging developments to take place on unused brownfield sites to try and worsen the costal squeeze. Bournemouth wants to keep its rare assortment of coast, countryside and city developments. However, there are some new developments in the town; the Bournemouth Pavilion Gardens is a £59 million project that will see a nine screen cinema, 15 restaurants and over 30+ shops using unused land to create the development.
Economic: Unlike many other costal towns, Bournemouth has been fortunate enough to see an economic boom take place. The service sector in Bournemouth has taken off; more residents have seen employment in banking, finance and tourism/ leisure. JP Morgan, a large and well respected American ban has chosen Bournemouth to have a large office on the edge of the city, employing over 4000 people. With the likes of JP Morgan setting up offices here, it means that other banks such as Barclays and Abbey Life have chosen to have offices in Bournemouth. These companies also find Bournemouth desirable due to the university, with graduates finding well paid jobs in these footloose industries. This has some affect on stopping a brain drain that other seaside towns have experienced, with Bournemouth having a surprisingly bottom-heavy population for a British seaside town.
Transport in and out of the city has greatly improved since the 1980’s, in the late 80’s the rail links were improved shortening the length of journeys to London to just 2 hours. This could mean people decide to commute from Bournemouth to London. However, the airport has helped Bournemouth economically develop, with links to cities all over Europe it will continue the cycle that JP Morgan by setting up office in the town, due to its proximity to London and links to Europe. Being the 3rd best airport in the world by The Telegraph newspaper will give it some extra prestige too.
Although the tourist trade in Bournemouth is not what it once would have been; now a lot more day-trippers are visiting the town. People might be staying the New Forest and visit Bournemouth for a day. Alternatively, people are using the train links from London to Bournemouth to visit for the day too, leaving early in the morning and returning in the evening. They are not spending as much as people who would have once holidayed here for the week, but are still contributing to the upkeep of Bournemouth’s economy.
In conclusion, Bournemouth is a crowded coast due to having career prospects that entice the young to stay in the town. There is not as big a case of a ‘brain-drain’ that other coastal towns may experience. With over 62% of the population being under the age of 49 it means the town is not just a retirement town that other costal towns such as Walton- on- the – Naze have experienced. People inwardly migrate here due to the town’s environmental diversity. Some middle class families find that raising children in a town such as Bournemouth is a safer environment than a city. Bournemouth is only 2 hours from London, offering cheaper house prices, a sluggish but achievable commute to London and its proximity to the national park the New Forest have all contributed to Bournemouth being a crowded coast in the 21st century.
