Bournemouth, United Kingdom

Bournemouth is about 94 miles (151 km) southwest of London. The town borders the neighbouring towns of Poole and Christchurch to the west and east respectively. Poole Bay lies to the south. The River Stour forms a natural boundary to the north and east, terminating at Christchurch Harbour. The River Bourne rises in Poole and flows through the middle of Bournemouth town centre, into the English Channel. The towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch form the South East Dorset conurbation with a combined population of over 400,000. Bournemouth is both a retail and commercial centre. Areas within Bournemouth include: Boscombe, Kinson, Southbourne, Springbourne, Throop, Westbourne, Winton and Pokesdown.

The area's geology has little variety, comprising almost entirely of Eocene clays which, prior to urbanisation, supported a heathland environment. Patches of the original heath still remain, notably Turbary Common, a 36-hectare (89-acre; 0.14 sq mi; 0.36 km2) site, much of which is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This heathland habitat is home to all six species of native reptile, the Dartford warbler and some important flora such as sundew and bog asphodel. Small populations of Exmoor pony and Shetland cattle help to maintain the area.

Similarly to the rest of Dorset, Bournemouth's economy is primarily in the service sector, which employed 95% of the workforce in 2010. This was 10% higher than the average employment in the service sector for Great Britain and 11% higher than the South West. Of particular importance are the financial and public service sectors which through 2011 continued to show sustained growth. Compared to the rest of the country, Bournemouth performed well in these two areas but under performed in transport and communications.

The smallest geographical region for which gross value added information is available is the NUTS3 area, Bournemouth and Poole. In 2009, the Bournemouth and Poole area enjoyed the strongest annualised growth in the South-West region. In 2009, the South West Regional Accounts showed that the Financial Services sector in Bournemouth was worth £1,031.8 million in Gross Value Added. Important employers in this sector include JPMorgan, Nationwide Building Society, and the Liverpool Victoria, Tata Consultancy Services (formerly Unisys), and RIAS insurance companies. The manufacturing sector is predominantly based in neighbouring Poole, and employed 2% of the workforce in 2010 and 2.6% in 2011. Notable employers in this sector include Escor Toys and Parvalux.

Bournemouth is a tourist and regional centre for leisure, entertainment, culture and recreation. Local author and former mayor, Keith Rawlings, suggests that Bournemouth has a thriving youth culture due to its large university population and many language school students. In recent years, Bournemouth has become a popular nightlife destination with UK visitors and many clubs, bars and restaurants are located within the town centre. In a 2007 survey by First Direct, Bournemouth was found to be the happiest place in the UK, with 82% of people questioned saying they were happy with their lives.

Major venues for concerts include BIC, Pavilion Theatre and O2 Academy. Built in 1984, the BIC is also a popular place for party political conferences and has been used by all three major political parties. Its four auditoria make it the largest venue on the south coast. The O2 and Pavilion are older and are both Grade II listed buildings. The O2, which opened in 1895 as the Grand Pavilion Theatre, was initially used as a circus and later for music hall theatre. The Pavilion opened in 1929 as concert hall and tea room while providing a venue for the municipal orchestra. It continues to provide traditional entertainment today, presenting West End stage shows, ballet and operas.

The Bournemouth local education authority was first set up in 1903 and remained in existence until local government was reorganised in 1974 when Bournemouth lost its County Borough status and became part of the county of Dorset. Under the later reforms of 1997, Bournemouth became a unitary authority and the Bournemouth local education authority was re-established.

The local council operates a traditional two-tier system whereby pupils attend one of the 26 primary schools in the borough before completing their education at secondary school. Bournemouth is one of the minority of local authorities in England still to maintain selective education, with two grammar schools (one for boys, one for girls) and ten secondary modern/non-selective schools. There are a small number of independent schools in the town.

Bournemouth and Poole College offers further education, higher education and community courses. Bournemouth has two universities: Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth, both of which are across the boundary in neighbouring Poole. They are home to AECC University College formally known as Anglo European College of Chiropractic, which is on Parkwood Road in Bournemouth.