- South East Dorset conurbation
The South east Dorset conurbation (also known as the South Dorset conurbation [e.g.
Audit Commission , [http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/reports/accessible.asp?ProdID=D4AE26B4-CE5F-44B1-927F-89260139087B] ] , Poole-Bournemouth urban area [e.g.Hampshire County Council, [http://www.hants.gov.uk/decisions/decisions-docs/050726-exmrnh-R0720102502.html] ] and Bournemouth urban area) is a multi-centredconurbation on the south coast ofDorset inEngland . The area is rapidly becoming an amalgamation with the area of South WestHampshire immediately on the fringe of the newly formed New Forest National Park. The main population centres areBournemouth ,Poole and Christchurch however, the urbanised area spreads as far east asBarton on Sea in Hampshire. There are a number of satellite towns peripheral to these main urban centres. In clockwise rotation these include: Wareham, Upton/Lytchett Minster ,Wimborne ,Ferndown ,Verwood ,Ringwood (Hampshire) andNew Milton (Hampshire). The urban area is generally surrounded by a Green Belt.The 2001 census gave a population of 383,713 for the conurbation, defined by the
Office for National Statistics as the "Bournemouth Urban Area", and divides into five parts: Bournemouth, Burton, Christchurch, New Milton/Barton on Sea, and Poole. The equivalent population according to the 1991 census was 358,321. [Office for National Statistics, [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8271&Pos=2&ColRank=1&Rank=224 Census data] ] TheSouth West England Regional Development Agency and theHighways Agency , which maintain's England'strunk road s, define a larger "South East Dorset Conurbation", with over 400,000 people. [ [http://www.southwest-ra.gov.uk/swra/ourwork/RSS/draft_RSS.shtml] ] [ [http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:5dKBOBIp7LUJ:www.highways.gov.uk/business/documents/South_West.pdf+%22South+Dorset+conurbation%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=opera] ] The term has also been applied to the Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch boroughs, excluding the surrounding towns, for example, in their recent JointLocal Transport Plan . [Bournemouth Borough Council, [http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/Library/PDF/Residents/Local_TRansport_Plan/LDR.pdf Local Transport Plan] ]Nearby places
There are a number of nearby towns and villages that are only separated from the conurbation by narrow gaps. These include
*
Bransgore
*Milford on Sea
*Lymington
*Ringwood
*St Ives
*St Leonards
*Verwood
*West Moors
*Wimborne Minster Transport
The conurbation is served by a number of main roads. The
M27 motorway , which feeds the M3 to London, ends on the eastern edge of the New Forest nearSouthampton , but extends west as the A31trunk 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 atBere Regis where they continue west to Dorchester andExeter . 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 andBristol . The A337 runs east to Lymington and the New Forest.The conurbation is served by the
South Western Main Line which runs fromLondon toWeymouth viaWinchester ,Southampton and Dorchester. There are stations at New Milton, Hinton Admiral, Christchurch, Pokesdown, Bournemouth, Branksome, Parkstone, Poole, Hamworthy and Holton Heath. TheSomerset and Dorset Joint Railway to Bath had its southern terminus here, until its closure in theBeeching Axe .References
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