Merley and Bearwood

I know the Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency quite well, however there is no substitute for being shown around by someone who knows the area really well.

In Merley and Bearwood there is no one better than Katie Hives, who with Leo Belcham provides a superb service as borough councillors for the ward. Katie has lived in the ward, with her husband Richard, for many years. Katie is totally committed to her community and really knows it inside out, down to naming people at different addresses and giving background to the issues she has helped them with.

Yesterday morning Katie took the time to drive me around her area. What a diverse and interesting one it is, from the rural areas of Ashington, to Merley and Canford Magna and then Bearwood, which intermingles with Kinson as the boundary between Bournemouth and Poole is staggered along it's north edge.

We had a cup of coffee in the Bearwood Community Centre. The local church there have done a brilliant job renovating the centre and providing a drop in coffee room for the local community. The centre serves the residents of both Bournemouth and Poole, and while it is in Poole I think it deserves support from Bournemouth too as it's providing support to Bournemouth residents who live within a few hundred yards.

I hope the ward councillors for Kinson South might be able to find some support from their ward improvement fund for the centre.

Huge thanks to Katie for spending her morning with me, there really is no substitute to being shown around by someone so steeped in the area.