The South East Dorset conurbation (also known as the South Dorset conurbation, [1] Poole-Bournemouth urban area [2] and Bournemouth urban area) is a multi-centred conurbation on the south coast of Dorset in England.
The South East Dorset conurbation (also known as the South Dorset conurbation, [1] Poole-Bournemouth urban area [2] and Bournemouth urban area) is a multi-centred conurbation on the south coast of Dorset in England.
The main population centres are Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole which are served by the single unitary authority of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. However, the urbanised area spreads into the area of the Dorset unitary authority and into the New Forest District as far east as Barton on Sea. There are a number of satellite towns peripheral to the urban centres, including (listed clockwise) Wareham, Verwood, and Ringwood (Hampshire). The urban area is generally surrounded by a green belt.
In 2006, the South West England Regional Development Agency and the Highways Agency, which maintains England's trunk roads, defined a South East Dorset Conurbation with over 400,000 people. [3] [4] The term has also been applied to the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole boroughs, excluding the surrounding towns, for example, in their 2006 Joint Local Transport Plan. [5] The conurbation is the largest urban area in Britain with no part having city status. [6]
The 2011 census gave a population of 466,626 for the conurbation, defined by the Office for National Statistics as the Bournemouth/Poole Built-up Area, and divided it into six main parts: Bournemouth, Ferndown, Wimborne Minster, Christchurch, New Milton, and Poole. [7]
The population of the conurbation increased significantly between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, mainly because the towns of Ferndown and Wimborne Minster became part of it. The population for the conurbation according to the 2001 and 1991 censuses was 383,713 and 358,321, respectively. [8]
There are a number of nearby towns and villages that are separated from the conurbation by narrow gaps. They include:
The conurbation is served by a number of main roads. The M27 motorway feeds the M3 to London and ends on the eastern edge of the New Forest near Southampton, but extends west as the A31 trunk road. The A31 serves as a bypass for the conurbation, north of Poole and Bournemouth but south of many of the satellite towns, and is dual carriageway for most of its length. To the west the A31 merges with the A35 at Bere Regis where they continue west to Dorchester and Exeter. The A35 runs through the centres of the main towns in the conurbation. The A338 is the main arterial route in Bournemouth, running as a dual carriageway from Bournemouth town centre to the A31, and as a single carriageway north to Salisbury. The A350 is Poole town centre's main artery, running north along Holes Bay to the A35, and as a single carriageway to Bath and Bristol. The A337 runs east to Lymington and the New Forest.
The conurbation is served by the South West Main Line which runs from London to Weymouth via Winchester, Southampton and Dorchester. There are stations at New Milton, Hinton Admiral, Christchurch, Pokesdown, Bournemouth, Branksome, Parkstone, Poole, Hamworthy and Holton Heath. The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway to Bath had its southern terminus here, until its closure in 1966 under the Beeching Axe.
The conurbation's bus services are almost entirely provided by morebus.
The Port of Poole has regular roll-on/roll-off ferry connections to Cherbourg in France, and Gijon and Santander in Spain. High-speed car ferries operate to the Channel Islands, Cherbourg and St. Malo, and a regular all-freight service to the Channel Islands. Bournemouth Airport is about 4 miles (6 km) north of Bournemouth town centre; Ryanair [9] and TUI Airways [10] are the main operators.
Dorset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south-east, the English Channel to the south, and Devon to the west. The largest settlement is Bournemouth, and the county town is Dorchester.
Christchurch is a town and civil parish on the south coast of Dorset, England. The parish had a population of 31,372 in 2021. It adjoins Bournemouth to the west, with the New Forest to the east. Part of the historic county of Hampshire, Christchurch was a borough within the administrative county of Dorset from 1974 until 2019, when it became part of the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority.
Poole is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is 21 miles (34 km) east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. The town had an estimated population of 151,500 making it the second-largest town in the ceremonial county of Dorset. Together with Bournemouth and Christchurch, the conurbation has a total population of nearly 400,000.
Verwood is a town and civil parish in eastern Dorset, England. The town lies 10 miles (16 km) north of Bournemouth and 13 miles (21 km) north east of Poole as the crow flies. The civil parish comprises the town of Verwood together with the extended village of Three Legged Cross, and in 2014 had a population of 15,170. Verwood is the largest town in Dorset without an upper school.
East Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council met in Wimborne Minster between 2016 and 2019.
The A31 is a major trunk road in southern England that runs from Guildford in Surrey to Bere Regis in Dorset. Its most well known section is the Hog's Back, a hilly ridge forming part of the North Downs, in the Surrey stretch between Guildford and Farnham.
The A35 is a major road in southern England, connecting Honiton in Devon and Southampton in Hampshire. It is a trunk road for some of its length. Most of its route passes through Dorset and the New Forest. It originally connected Exeter and Southampton, the original A35 ran along what is now the A3052 joining the present road at Charmouth.
Ferndown is a town and civil parish in Dorset in southern England, immediately to the north of Bournemouth and Poole. The parish, which until 1972 was called Hampreston, includes the communities of Hampreston, Longham, Stapehill and Trickett's Cross. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 26,559, making Ferndown the largest inland town in Dorset in terms of population, being larger than Dorchester.
West Moors is a village in Dorset, England, on the northern fringe of the Poole-Bournemouth conurbation, just outside the larger settlements of Ferndown and Verwood. The parish of West Moors had an estimated population of 7,400 in 2004, increasing to 7,561 for both the parish and electoral ward at the 2011 Census. The parish council was renamed West Moors Town Council in 2020.
Christchurch is a constituency in Dorset represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Sir Christopher Chope of the Conservative Party.
The A338 is a major primary route in southern England, that runs from the junction with the A35 at Poole in Dorset to the junction with the A420 at Besselsleigh in Oxfordshire, a distance of 84 miles (135 km).
The BH postcode area, also known as the Bournemouth postcode area, is a group of 26 postcode districts in southern England, within eleven post towns. These cover east Dorset and part of south-west Hampshire.
Dorset is a county in South West England. The county is largely rural and therefore does not have a dense transport network, and is one of the few English counties without a motorway. Owing to its position on the English Channel coast, and its natural sheltered harbours, it has a maritime history, though lack of inland transport routes have led to the decline of its ports.
The Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway was a railway company, that built a line from a junction near Salisbury to another near West Moors on the Ringwood to Wimborne line. It ran through the counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset in England. It opened the line in 1866, and was worked by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR).
The Southampton and Dorchester Railway was an English railway company formed to join Southampton in Hampshire with Dorchester in Dorset, with hopes of forming part of a route from London to Exeter. It received parliamentary authority in 1845 and opened in 1847.
Wilts & Dorset is a bus and coach operator providing services in East Dorset, South Wiltshire, and West Hampshire. It operates services under the morebus brand around Bournemouth and Poole, and under the Salisbury Reds brand around Salisbury and Amesbury. It is part of Go South Coast, a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.
The 2020 Wareham Forest fire was a wildfire in Wareham Forest, Dorset, in May 2020. It destroyed over 220 Hectares of the heathland, and was described "one of the most devastating fires in Dorset, in living memory" by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.