A CASE is being made to build a leisure park with all-weather visitor attractions on Weymouth’s Pavilion peninsula site as part of the borough’s regeneration plans.

Councillors are being urged to back a 'leisure destination' scheme for the prominent waterside site instead of a development which is mainly housing – and without facilities for a ferry operation.

A model, drawn up by consultants asked to look into the potential of the site by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, includes leisure units, restaurants, a hotel and car parking. It assumes the Pavilion will remain and car parking income can continue to be generated, but it does not include a ferry operation.

Leisure facilities might include an indoor surfing centre, climbing centre and indoor skydiving.

It is likely the scheme would be 'council led' using low cost borrowing available to local authorities. This means the council would own the finished scheme and make money from it. An appraisal shows this to be viable.

Condor Ferries switched to Poole last year and since then the council has been in talks with another operator proposing a fast ferry to France to fill the gap.

But the High Speed Ferries operation has been delayed, and a report says the council is no longer in a formal agreement with the firm and a restricted area used for ferry operations is no longer being maintained.

High Speed Ferries told the Echo it was committed to running the service.

The peninsula is identified in the Weymouth Town Centre Masterplan for a mixed-use development. It is acknowledged the 5-hectare man-made structure presents challenges including the fact it is in a flood zone and needs protection from the sea.

The council used money from the Local Enterprise Partnership to commission Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) to establish the feasibility of the site and test the market.

As well as the leisure scheme, C&W have come up with a £100 million residential-led redevelopment consisting of 349 units, a 130-bed hotel, multi-storey car park, restaurants and public square.

A report to the management committee by strategic director Martin Hamilton said analysis shows the development is 'marginal' in terms of financial viability and would only work without affordable housing.

The council would also see a loss as there is no receipt for the current site value and car park income is lost. Furthermore, developers have said the site is a 'complex' one and are put off by the capital investment needed.

Mr Hamilton said there are significant benefits to the leisure-led scheme including the fact the sector is very strong, and the financial commitment to deliver a scheme is low compared to housing.

He says in the report: "The appraisals show that progressing a housing-led development is very high risk. In light of the appraisals and the benefits to the local economy, officers recommend that the leisure led scheme is progressed to the next stage."

The committee is being asked to spend £200,000 on more detailed reports and assessments. Construction work could begin in 2019.

Confidential papers are included in the report discussing financial analysis of the development options, cash flow analysis for the leisure scheme and a timeline for delivering a scheme.

A High Speed Ferries spokesman said: “We understand the council’s need to debate the wider future of the peninsula and we have kept in touch with council officers on this subject.

“We remain committed to run a high speed cross-Channel ferry from South Dorset to Cherbourg.”