This section looks at data relating to geographies and definitions. Click on the links on the left to access information on the area of the borough and the ward geography, and the definitions used on the Research and Information section of the Council’s website.
Geographies
Bournemouth borough is 4,617 ha or 17.83 sq miles – the equivalent of about 6,500 football pitches. The borough comprises 1.7% of the total area of Dorset, including Bournemouth and Poole, but contains 23.3% of the population. At the time of the 2001 Census, the borough had the highest population density of all local authority areas in the south west region.
The current ward geography was introduced on 1st May 2003. The eighteen wards range in size from the smallest Boscombe West at 101 ha to the largest East Southbourne and Tuckton at 512 ha. In population terms, they range from 7,598, again Boscombe West to 10,229 Kinson South. The electorate in each ward returns three councillors every four years, the next being in May 2007.
For the 2001 Census, the Office for national Statistics introduced a new geography called Census Output Areas (COAs). These are the basic building block for Census information. Since, a new family of geographies have been introduced called Super Output Areas (SOAs) based on groupings of COAs.
Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) are groupings of approximately 5 output areas, generally with a population of 1,000 and an average of 1,500. LSOAs rest in two wards and there are usually up to 4 or 5 LSOAs in each ward.
A map image is available which should help to put the LSOAs in context as to the area of Bournemouth that they
cover. View a list of the corresponding LSOA names suggested by the Research and Information team.
Definitions
These definitions are meant to be indicative only and source publications should be consulted for rigorous definitions. In addition, there is a separate list of definitions for the 2001 Census which can be viewed by clicking here.
