Councillor Drew Mellor is Leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and strives to improve places and services for people and businesses based in England’s tenth largest unitary authority serving around 400,000 residents.

He is a fervent community champion, having served on several governing bodies and co-founded a charity supporting mental health and movement for children, as well as a successful career in corporate finance.

Drew identified a need to accelerate high-quality placemaking across the region and has been integral in setting up BCP Council’s municipally-owned urban regeneration company FuturePlaces to bring expertise in best practice sustainable placemaking, delivery and stewardship of community-focused regenerative developments to the conurbation.