| Bearwood and Merley | |
| Map Entity: | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole |
| Elects Howmany2: | 3 |
| Abolished2: | 2019 Merley and Bearwood |
| Year2: | 2003 |
| Westminster2: | Mid Dorset and North Poole |
| Westminster1: | Bournemouth West |
| Towns: | Bearwood Merley |
| Year: | 2019 |
| Council: | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council |
| Party3: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Councillor3: | Richard Burton |
| Party2: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Councillor2: | Marcus Andrews |
| Party1: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Councillor1: | David Brown |
| Previous: | Merley and Bearwood (2003-2019) |
| County: | Dorset |
| Population: | 14,028 (2021 census) |
| Region: | South West England |
Bearwood and Merley is a ward in Poole, Dorset.[1] Since 2019, the ward has elected 3 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.[2]
| Population | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13,532 | 13,516 | 14,028 | ||
| Geography | ||||
| Population Density | 799.1/km² | |||
| Population Growth | (2011 to 2021) | 0.37% | ||
| Area | 17.55 km² | |||
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White | 95.7% | |||
| Asian | 1.6% | |||
| Mixed/Other | 1.5% | |||
| Black | 0.7% | |||
| Country of Birth | ||||
| United Kingdom | 92.3 | |||
| European Union | 3.5 | |||
| Africa | 1.6 | |||
| Middle East and Asia | 1.4 | |||
| Other | 0.9 | |||
| Europe (Other) | 0.4 | |||
| Religion | ||||
| Christianity | 53.5% | |||
| No Religion | 44.1% | |||
The ward contains the suburbs of Bearwood and Merley. It primarily covers the area of the similarly named former Poole Borough Council ward of Merley and Bearwood. The ward is divided between the Parliamentary Constituencies of Bournemouth West and Mid Dorset and North Poole.
The ward is currently represented by three Liberal Democrat councillors.[4]
| Election | Councillors | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Catherine Hives(Conservative Party) | Jane James(Liberal Democrats) | Leo Belcham(Conservative Party) | |||
| 2007 | Peter Maiden(Liberal Democrats) | David Brown(Liberal Democrats) | Daphne Long(Liberal Democrats) | |||
| 2011 | David Brown(Liberal Democrats) | Sandra Cox(Liberal Democrats) | Peter Maiden(Liberal Democrats) | |||
| 2015 | Jane Newell(Conservative Party) | Marion Pope(Conservative Party) | ||||
| BCP | Marcus Andrews(Liberal Democrats) | Richard Burton(Liberal Democrats) | ||||
| 2019 | ||||||
| 2023 | ||||||