THE future prosperity of Weymouth Harbour rests in a leisure park on the peninsula, according to senior councillors.

Residents have been reassured that the harbour remains an ‘enormously important’ part of the town as efforts to bring a ferry service back to the borough have proved ‘fruitless’.

Work to repair three of the harbour walls ‘must’ begin in autumn 2017, chairman of the harbour management board Cllr Jason Osborne said. 

Discussions are ongoing about how to fund the repairs.

The board is set to meet this Wednesday to discuss separate reports on the budget and the state of the walls. 

As reported in the Echo in July, plans to increase flood defences by raising the height of the Esplanade – set to cost £27m – were scaled down so that a bid for LEP cash could cover some of the cost of the harbour wall repairs as well as Esplanade defences.

Cllr Jeff Cant, leader of the borough council, said the scaled-down plans for the Esplanade, which involve banking up the sand on the beach, would have the same effect as the original plans, according to Defra engineers. The council expects to hear soon whether the bid was successful.

But concerns remain over the long-term finances of the harbour, both to cover the cost of harbour wall repairs and to provide regular income.

Condor brought in £750,000 a year until it switched services to Poole in March 2015. 

£300,000 will be taken from the harbour reserves to balance the books this year.

Cllr Cant said ‘a lot of work’ is ongoing to look at ways to replace the harbour income. 

“The harbour at the moment is supporting the far end of the peninsula. Long term, the budget includes taking this off the harbour, which will relieve some of the pressure. There is a lot of work going on for a recovery plan for the harbour to improve its income, and that should come out in the next two or three months.”

The report on the harbour walls notes that Wall D requires ‘urgent reconstruction’ due to its ‘poor structural and serviceability condition’. Wall C is also a concern, though deemed less urgent due to its lower height. And Walls E, B, F and G are to have minor works to extend how long they can be used for.

Cllr Osborne said: “We are not sure yet what pot all the funding will come out of. Will it happen? Yes, it’s got to happen, and it’s got to be autumn 2017.”

He added: “There will not be a ferry operation in Weymouth. Condor are not going to consider coming back; they are happy in Poole.

"The High Speed Ferries link has been fruitless really, we have not been able to get any further with that. There is a desire to run a ferry service still, but I think it is a funding issue. It has got to the point where we need to be looking at something else."

‘Something else’ is likely to be the leisure park facilities given the thumbs up by management committee last week. 

Cllr Osborne said: “It’s quite exciting and we will know more when we have done the research and looked at designs. The harbour and the peninsula have got to work hand in hand.”

Cllr Cant added the scheme could be completed ‘within two to three years’.

“We have to do something with the harbour. It is enormously important.”

High Speed Ferries said earlier this month it remained committed to running a high speed cross-Channel ferry from Weymouth to Cherbourg.