A £1.8MILLION fund for leisure and recreational facilities in Dorchester and the surrounding area has been described as a "unique opportunity".

West Dorset District Councils has the substantial sum of money available after it was accrued through developer contributions, largely from building work at Poundbury, It is now looking to set up a panel of councillors to look at how to spend the money and will include members from the surrounding parishes.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the district council's executive committee and has already been the subject of discussion by Dorchester Town Council.

At the executive committee meeting West Dorset District Council's enabling portfolio holder Cllr Mary Penfold said that the sum of around £1.8m could be used to "make major improvements to community facilities which benefit the whole district".

She added that "the majority of the money has been secured from the Poundbury development".

Cllr Susie Hosford spoke on behalf of the town council at the meeting and said that, while it did not object to some of the funds going on projects that would benefit residents of the areas surrounding area, it was felt the "bulk" of the money should be spent in Dorchester, not least because part of the requirement of the developer contributions were that they are spent on facilities that improve the lives of residents where the building work takes place.

She said: "It is a huge sum of money and it's of significant importance to the whole district.

"It's a very unique opportunity in the current financial climate.

"We are not going to have many opportunities to spend this sort of money on recreational and leisure facilities."

Cllr Hosford said she was keen to see councillors involved in deciding where the funds are spent and added that Dorchester members felt they would like to see a large proportion of the money invested in one project, to demonstrate a long term legacy from the funding.

When questioned, however, she said that councillors had not yet identified the specific project they would like to be the main beneficiary of the funding, Some of the possible projects that could be in line for funds were set out in a report considered by the committee.

They included expansion of fitness facilities at Dorchester Sports Centre, installation of an artificial turf pitch at Dorchester Town Football Club, new facilities at the Great Field in Poundbury, The Maltings Theatre in Brewery Square, the expansion of Dorset County Museum, the Shire Hall redevelopment and new facilities at St Osmunds Community Sports Centre and the Thomas Hardye School.