Branksome railway station, which still serves the area today, helped encourage a massive growth in the early 20th century.

Most of the houses in Branksome today are from the Edwardian period and before the Second World War except for a 1970s development off of Winston Avenue known as the Farnham Estate and also a small amount of in-filling.

The £6 million development is one-third of the size of a normal John Lewis department store and is the first of a new experimental format for the retailer focusing exclusively on homeware.

[1] Accessed from Alder Road but essentially part of the Poole Retail Park area is a series of industrial buildings that were associated with the former confectionary factory that ceased operating in 2013.

[3] Aldi purchased the site in 2018, and made an unsuccessful bid to seek planning approval to turn it into a supermarket in August 2020.

Despite this, the Daily Echo reports in February 2022 that the supermarket chain is now hopeful that a decision on its revised plans for a new store on the disused sweet factory site will be made "in the near future".

Along the A35 (Poole Road) there are a number of small independent retailers including fast food outlets, a bowling complex and a car showroom.

The major insurer Liverpool Victoria is situated towards the east of the boundary in a large building contained within the County Gates Roundabout.

[7] The unitary authority ward is Alderney and Bourne Valley, and is represented by Councillors Adrian Chapmanlaw, Rachel Maidment and Tony Trent, on Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Council.