WE may be a new group but we’ve many years of real connection in Poole through our work, families and friends and through the residents we’ve served over that time.

Poole matters greatly to us – from its ancient heritage to the challenges of today and its ambitions for the future.

It is still a beautiful place but it’s also a town with problems that need to be fixed.

Problems that need the commitment of councillors to work together across groups and really deliver.

PLG will concentrate on the big things that worry people the most. We won’t waste time in pointless political bickering.

We’ll listen and be there for people.  If an idea’s good, we’ll support it wherever it was proposed.

We’ll encourage a unified and stronger voice for Poole and its public services, and we’ll push ourselves and the council’s resources to make things happen.

We want to restore public services back to a level that Poole residents can feel proud of.

Initially, we will focus on things where we’re hearing the greatest concern: e.g. proper cleaning of the streets; maintenance of the parks and verges; the right balance between landscaped and let-it-grow sites; proper rules on the beaches to keep people safe; faster contact for everyone with the council and for calls to be answered quickly; a push-back on the move towards online and face-less self-help; a restoration of the crematorium service in the town.

Barclays House is an opportunity, so proper engagement must reflect this.

We’ll undertake broad consultation with residents and businesses.

We’ll push for clear dates in the plans for our High Street, bus station, sports centre and stadium together with development schemes plans around the bridges.

Those deadlines need to force things to happen.

Poole Local Group proposes to bring back community engagement forums across BCP and make them work successfully. These are round tables of residents’ groups, businesses and other organisations and they’ll work together to point the way for our towns – ensuring that Poole receives our fair share across BCP.

This is the start but we know residents’ wider concerns across public safety, congestion, bus services, conservation, care services and community support to name a few.

We’ll be listening to residents and lobbying for the right kind of decisive action from the council.

COUNCILLORS MOHAN IYENGAR, JUDES BUTT, JULIE BAGWELL, STEVE BARON AND DANIEL BUTT Poole Local Group