A DECISION on the Pavilion’s future had to be reached as part of the budget-setting process for the coming year in which more than £2.265 million worth of savings had to be found.
Services are being slashed as part of this process and investigations made into selling off valuable assets such as the Guildhall and council offices on North Quay.
Closing the theatre at the end of May and starting a tender process so it can be leased will save the council £700,000 alone in 2013/14.
The council is under huge pressure to make savings in light of the reduced amount of funding it gets from the government which, it is warned, will get worse in future.
Other budget proposals which were backed included reducing the CCTV budget by £100,000, closing tourist information centres in Weymouth and Portland and raising council tax so the increase on a band B would be 1.9 per cent.
The council is also moving out to all-out elections in 2015 and reducing the number of councillors.

Labour councillors and supported staged a protest before the meeting to demonstrate their opposition to the cuts.