COUNCILLORS have been accused of ‘selling off grandmother’s jewellery’ as they voted to dispose of small pockets of land across Weymouth and Portland.

Leader of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council Jeff Cant said selling the land, which includes seven sites on Portland and six in Weymouth, would allow revenue to be raised.

He told the committee this cash can then be spent in the borough, where it is needed most, before W&PBC moves into a unitary authority.

He added: “If we get to close to becoming a unitary authority, the chances of us getting rid of anything and recycling the cash back into the borough becomes radically less. We will end up passing our assets to the new authority – they will say ‘that’s great, now we’re going to sell it and put the cash wherever we want all over the county’.”

A report to the committee recommended the sites listed for disposal be considered for the accelerating home building programme where possible.

But a number of Portland councillors addressed the committee to make their case that the assets should be transferred to Portland Town Council if W&PBC is dissolved and becomes unitary.

Work is ongoing to create a Weymouth Town Council if town leaders get the go-ahead from the government to move to a unitary authority.

Addressing the committee, Cllr Sandy West, mayor of Portland, said: “This looks like selling grandmother’s jewels before she dies.

“These pockets of land on Portland can be put to far better use than one or two houses.”

Cllr Paul Kimber urged the committee to involve Portland Town Council in the decision.

He added: “I’m concerned we will go into this process where we start to build on a lot of this land and it will prove detrimental.”

Weymouth Cllr Ray Nowak, who sits on the committee, said he was ‘annoyed, flabbergasted and infuriated’ when he read the report.

He added: “This council agreed only a matter of weeks ago that we would look at – given that we are going down the unitary road – transferring assets and services to the respective town councils of Weymouth and Portland.”

Cllr Nowak said the land identified on Portland was inherited by the borough council from Portland Town Council in 1974.

“If we are now going to sell it off, it looks like a smash and grab and running off with the money without looking at the consequences.”

But Cllr Gill Taylor, spokesman for housing, disagreed.

“If anyone wants to buy these pieces of land there’s the option to do so, with the exception of what we want for accelerated home building. I’m a huge fan of open spaces but we need to be realistic.

“I want to have a town council set up for Weymouth, and Portland Town Council working a lot better.”

She added that selling off the parcels of land would help put both town councils in ‘tip top condition’ financially to kickstart both after the unitary authority is formed.

The committee voted six to four in favour of the recommendations.

The sites are: 

  • Land at Park Road, Portland
  • Land at Reap Lane, Portland
  •  Land at Croft Road, Portland
  •  Land at 29 Artists Row, Portland
  • Former public conveniences, Lord Clyde Car Park, Portland
  •  Land at New Street, Portland
  •  Land at Brandy Row, Portland
  •  Land at Roman Road/Spa Road, Weymouth
  •  Land at 52, 68, 70, & 74 Old Castle Road, Weymouth 
  •  Land at 1A Chaffey’s Avenue, Weymouth
  •  Land at Knightsdale Road, Weymouth
  • Hetherley Road, Weymouth n Land at Radipole Lane,