UPDATED: Weymouth Town Centre Masterplan to create 2,700 jobs and 1,000 new homes

The Weymouth Town Centre Masterplan will see five key sites being developed amounting to 58 hectares of land.

A hotel, park and ride site, new housing schemes, improved leisure facilities, public squares, and a new theatre are all envisaged in the plan which aims to drive economic growth.

The masterplan is considered a key part of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s ambitions, responding to the challenges of achieving economic investment, delivering community aspirations and producing alternative sources of council revenue.

Councillors at next week's management committee will be asked to approve the draft vision document and supplementary planning document for public consultation between March 9 and April 7.

This is the third stage of the masterplan process. Prior to this, extensive consultation had taken place among members of the public and community organisations asking for their thoughts on the town.

The masterplan identifies key sites for development and uses the framework provided by the emerging Local Plan as the basis for developing more detailed proposals for each of the key development sites.

Sites identified include: Weymouth Peninsula, Lodmoor Gateway, Station Gateway, Commercial Road, and South West Harbourside.

Each of these sites was assessed by G L Hearn and Parsons Brinkerhoff. Their recommendations are contained within the masterplan document.

Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership has announced an indicative funding award of £600,000 Growth Deal Funding towards the plan’s implementation.

Julie Cleaver, president of Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce, said businesses were positive about the plans.

She said: “The general feeling from businesses is that it’s very encouraging. The finances have obviously been released to support the project to the next stage.

“Business are seeing it as a long-term plan rather than an immediate solution but they are really pleased at having been consulted on some of the ideas and feel like they’ve been listened to.

“We feel we’ve been involved in the plans and we hope that continues.”

Jason West, founder of campaigning group Weyforward, said the draft vision did reflect a number of aspects mentioned in the public consultation but he was keen to see more ambition shown in the designs.

Weyforward is a web portal where people are encouraged to share ideas on future projects in Weymouth.

Mr West said: “There needs to be a stronger design element in the planning stages of this because currently we are in danger of just playing it safe.

“Playing safe isn’t going to inspire the people of Weymouth or encourage more people to come to Weymouth for recreation or living.”

Cllr Mike Byatt, chairman of the management committee, said he was pleased to see a more detailed vision emerge.

He said: “It sets the agenda for the council in terms of trying to drive economic growth and create jobs.

“We are confident that having a town centre masterplan will enable us to attract private investment.”

Cllr Byatt said any concerns raised about designs at this stage could be addressed at a later date.

He said: “That detail is subject to consultation with the private developers and community at large.”

The five key sites being examined

PAVILION PENINSULA

A LANDMARK building, a walkway and a potential pedestrian link across the harbour are all ideas mooted for the Pavilion peninsula.

A pedestrian link could be provided via a tidal barrage, allowing people easier access to the Nothe Fort. The tidal barrage could capture energy from water moving in and out of the harbour.

Upgraded tourism and leisure facilities, more public spaces, and residential development also feature as part of the vision document. It is hoped these changes would help provide for a different market, potentially one with a high spend and demand for commercial establishments.

If these changes occurred, it would involve the decommissioning of the buildings associated with the ferry service. operations used by Condor. This vision was written before plans were unveiled this week to launch a high-speed passenger ferry service to fill the gap left by Condor Ferries.

This matter will be discussed at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s full council meeting on Thursday.

The peninsula is on reclaimed land and bordered by sea walls.

Parts of the side are within a flood zone, whilst former railway tracks run across the site. It is noted that ground conditions are likely to cause increased construction costs.

STATION GATEWAY

FLATS could be created above a new and improved Weymouth Railway Station as part of a new gateway.

In the draft vision, planners have envisioned an arrival point with better transport connections for residents.

Mixed development is suggested for the site, with a focus on the business and commercial development around the station.

The site is next to the Jubilee Retail Park, considered one of Weymouth’s main out of centre retail parks.

A number of constraints have been identified. As well as parts of it sitting within flood zones, the site is also severed by the unused railway running between the station and Peninsula.

Meanwhile, the site is at potential risk of having contaminated land when used in the past for rail freight yards, depots and engineering yards.

Potential current contaminative uses include the electricity substation, petrol station and bus depot.

Despite these constraints, a number of opportunities have been presented for the area.

This includes a new public space in front of the station.

Another idea for the area is to keep and improve the Swannery car park.

SOUTH WEST HARBOURSIDE

A NEW residential and enterprise quarter has been earmarked for the South West Harbourside.

The site overlooks the marina area and has a diverse number of existing occupiers. A number of disused and underused buildings also exist on the site.

In the vision document, the site is considered to have potential for community facilities, a modern hotel with conference rooms and improved facilities for waterborne visitors to the marina.

Proposals made by planners include a boulevard approach along Westwey Road and a new public square. Planners are keen to see a greater level of activity across the area throughout the day and night.

At the same time, planners wish to ensure pedestrians and bike users have a safer environment in which to interact. Aside from the peninsula, the harbourside is considered the largest development opportunity in Weymouth. Planners believe the site has enough depth to accommodate a wide range of uses. One significant constraint on the site would be the challenge of relocating the electricity substation, with a high cost expected. A large amount of the site area also features in a flood zone, whilst the southern part is located within a conservation area.

COMMERCIAL ROAD

A MODERN extension to the town centre via Commercial Road has been proposed with a focus on waterfront development.

In the draft vision document, the site is praised for already providing a variety of activities that are attractive to visitors.

Westham Bridge is also considered to be an attractive viewpoint across the whole inner harbour.

Planners wish to build on opportunities presented by businesses already in the area.

A new 900-seat landmark cultural facility and theatre is one of the key proposals to come out of the site development plan.

Its inclusion came after a report on cultural facilities in Weymouth, produced by Artsreach, concluded that a new facility like this would be viable in Weymouth.

This facility could also have a workshop space with capacity for small scale performance activities, plus links to a new harbourside walkway, which would aim to provide better access for pedestrians.

Short stay car parks would be improved to meet demands of increased footfall, as well as act as a space for shoppers to park.

One of the site constraints, however, is that it is located largely within a flood zone.

The seawall would also require a minimal investment of £25,000.

The effluent disposal drain and foul sewer would also need to be avoided, diverted or protected for construction work to take place.

LODMOOR GATEWAY

INVESTMENT in tourist and leisure facilities at Lodmoor Country Park could significantly help the town’s economy.

Planners have recommended extending the Country Park to allow more wet weather attractions to be built.

The park currently houses attractions like SeaLife Adventure Park and Sandworld.

The park has numerous sport and recreation areas with events held on a grassed area throughout the year.

One suggestion to come from the site’s development plan is to reinstate a larger parking area with a new lowkey park and ride facility.

Other recommendations include better pedestrian and cycle links to allow greater access to the beach and town centre.

The site marks the entry point to Weymouth. An RSPB Nature Reserve sits next to the site, which is also designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Planners have suggested the expansion of Weymouth College.

This could allow scope in the future to extend higher education facilities.

By expanding the college, it is hoped this could enhance future learning and skills in the town.