Bearwood and Merley

Bearwood and Merley is a ward in Poole, Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 3 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

Bearwood and Merley
ward Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
Boundary of Bearwood and Merley in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
Local government in South West England	Dorset
Population	14,028 (2021 census)
Major settlements	Bearwood Merley
Current ward
Created	2019 (2019)
Councillor	David Brown (Liberal Democrats)
Councillor	Marcus Andrews (Liberal Democrats)
Councillor	Richard Burton (Liberal Democrats)
Created from	Merley and Bearwood (2003-2019)
2003 (2003)–2019 Merley and Bearwood (2019 Merley and Bearwood)
Number of councillors	3
UK Parliament constituency	Bournemouth West
UK Parliament constituency	Mid Dorset and North Poole

Demographics

Bearwood and Merley
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%

Geography

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.

Councillors

The ward is currently represented by three Liberal Democrat councillors.

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

Election results

2023

Bearwood and Merley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Anthony Brown‡	2,502	67.5	+17.7
	Liberal Democrats	Marcus Julian Charles Andrews‡	2,482	67.0	+23.4
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Glyn Burton‡	2,414	65.1	+24.0
	Conservative	Leona Jayne Allen	744	20.1	−6.9
	Conservative	Debbie Ferguson	698	18.8	−3.6
	Conservative	Roger Ashton Gregory	691	18.6	−3.6
	Green	Alison Randall	403	10.9	+0.5
	Labour	Siobhan Helen Bardsley	350	9.4	+4.4
Majority
Turnout			3,706	33.48
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

2019

Bearwood and Merley (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Brown	2,115	49.8
	Liberal Democrats	Marcus Andrews	1,850	43.6
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Burton	1,746	41.1
	Independent	Marion Pope	1,456	34.3
	Conservative	Jane Newell	1,148	27.0
	Conservative	Ashley Fraser	949	22.4
	Conservative	Stephen Baker	942	22.2
	Green	Simon Riggs	443	10.4
	Labour	Siobhan Bardsley	213	5.0
	Labour	Gigi Sismaet	193	4.5
	Labour	Moe Phillips	180	4.2
Majority
Turnout			4,246	39.70%
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

2015

Merley and Bearwood (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Brown*	2,579
	Conservative	Jane Newell	2,389
	Conservative	Marion Pope	2,332
	Conservative	Roger Gregory	2284
	Liberal Democrats	Ken Swash	1910
	Liberal Democrats	May Newman	1661
	UKIP	John Butler	1102
	Green	Wayland Goodliffe	458
	Green	Gigi Sismaet	454
	Independent	Peter Kazmierczak	377
	Green	Emmajay Walsh	312
Turnout
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

2011

Merley and Bearwood (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Brown	2,054
	Liberal Democrats	Sandra Cox	2,026
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Maiden	1,976
	Conservative	Bernard Broderick	1,936
	Conservative	Jane Thomas	1,639
	Conservative	Andrew Chard	1,593
Turnout
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

2007

Merley and Bearwood (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Maiden	2,238
	Liberal Democrats	David Brown	2,227
	Liberal Democrats	Daphne Long	2,036
	Conservative	Katie Hives	1,676
	Conservative	Jonathan Pethen	1,492
	Conservative	Karen Rampton	1,475
Turnout			3,901	46.81
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

2003

Merley and Bearwood (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Catherine Hives	1,689	51.7
	Liberal Democrats	Jane James	1,581	48.3
	Conservative	Leo Belcham	1,542
	Conservative	Philip Jones	1,519
	Liberal Democrats	Leslie Legg	1,493
	Liberal Democrats	Philip James	1,476
Turnout
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)