Go back to the drawing board: Residents and business object to plans for Weymouth's Pavilion peninsula

Most accepted the need to develop the area – but there are concerns about the loss of car parking, whether business and charities based on the site would have to move elsewhere and the effect on existing hotels and restaurants in the town centre.

It will also mean an end to any hopes of bringing back a roll-on roll-off ferry service to the town.

More than 100 people attended the first public consultation event at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council offices on Wednesday evening.

A second event was held yesterday.

The council is hoping to maximise profit from the venture by controlling the development itself.

Council Strategic Director Martin Hamilton said he believed most people were ‘generally positive’ about the outline proposals which he said aimed to offer Weymouth new attractions which will keep it in the ‘Premier League’ of seaside resorts.

Work could start on demolition of some existing former ferry terminal buildings and rebuilding the sea wall by the end of this year – with construction continuing for three or four years.

The existing outline application includes two hotels – one of them described as ‘boutique’ – a range of restaurants, indoor attractions, possibly including a climbing wall, trampolining or computerised indoor golf, and other retail outlets.

It would also result in day trip and some fishing boats moving their operations to new berths closer to the harbour entrance.

The current proposals would reduce the number of car parking spaces to 280 and is likely to see Dorset Abilities having to move from the site.

Comments at the consultation included worries about the effect new hotels and restaurants would have on existing businesses in the town, the likelihood of traffic congestion as people tried to drive onto the site – only to find fewer car parking spaces than at present.

The loss of car parking spaces was also a worry for carnival day floats which assemble there prior to the parade.

Wyke Regis resident Willy Kirkland generally welcomed the proposals: “It doesn’t look too bad.

“Much better than filling it up with flats, which people were worried about.

“Weymouth does need something positive and it’s good that the Pavilion will be improved as part of the proposals.”

Mr Hamilton said that the council hoped to attract nationally-known restaurant chains onto the site and by moving trip boats nearer the harbour mouth create a busy and interesting area for people to visit.

“Weymouth doesn’t have the major chains you might expect. We hope this will attract them while at the same time improving this important site and making it more attractive for families through a longer period of the year,” he said.

An outline planning application could be submitted by the end of April which will open up the chance to talk to potential investors.

“There is a lot of positivity about this scheme. We are getting the message that the quality needs to be good and that people really care about what happens to this area.”

Voices of Dissent

Joshua Kirby

At the second day of consultation yesterday, hoteliers and members of the public alike expressed opposition to plans.

The proposals would see the peninsula's redundant ferry port demolished, and leisure facilities, restaurants and hotels erected in a bid to boost year-round tourism. However, many who attended Thursday's consultation demanded that the council goes back to the drawing board.

"We don't need any more hotels," argued one owner of a seafront guesthouse. "As it is we can't sell our rooms for six months of the year."

The woman was especially concerned that one of the two proposed hotels was mooted to be a budget-style venue that could undercut the town's existing independent hoteliers.

"This winter has been particularly hard," she noted, adding that many hoteliers now closed during the off-season, while others were forced to stay open just to cover their outgoings.

Other objections centred around the erection of leisure facilities, such as a tenpin bowling alley, that it was felt would be better placed on cheaper brownfield sites around the edge of Weymouth.

"I'm very disappointed they're putting a leisure area there," said Mark Bugler. "We don't need a tenpin bowling alley here.

"Tourism is changing - people are coming here for the Jurassic Coast, they're divers and yachtsmen. [The council is] still looking at the traditional 'mum, dad and two kids' holidaymakers - it is looking backwards.

"We need to invest in the culture of the coast," added Mr Bugler, a resident of Chickerell who was born in Weymouth and returned once retired.

He accused the proposals of 'lacking vision', pointing to towns such as St Ives in Cornwall as a model of what he would like to see. "These proposals are not imaginative or forward-looking," he said.

Portland resident Jane Uff agreed. "The whole thing is a shambles," said Miss Uff. "There is too much emphasis on young people and young things. [On the peninsula] there should be open space, with palm trees - it should be scenic."

She countered, however, that she was glad to see the Pavilion would not be touched. "It's doing well, though no thanks to the council," she said.

The consultants which helped to draw up the proposals argued that the pro and the contra voices balanced out.

"Hoteliers won't want hotels, other people do," said Julian Greenhalgh of Cushman & Wakefield. "We've had praise and we've had criticism - that's only reasonable."

He added that indoor leisure facilities were the best way of ensuring continued tourism during the town's 'bitter winters'.

Not all citizens in attendance were opposed.

John McHugh said he was 'all for' the plans - as long as they didn't block the view over to Nothe Fort.

"The view down the Esplanade towards the trees and fort is very attractive," said Mr McHugh, a Weymouth resident for more than 40 years. "I'm all for it - it will bring visitors, and it will bring jobs."

The council has already approved £250,000 for an external makeover of the Pavilion Theatre, and the Jurassic Skyline will retain its current position. A total of £2m worth of repair and improvement work will take place on a section of the harbour walls.

The exhibition boards in Weymouth library until March 30 with a survey available until April 6 at dorsetforyou.gov.uk/weymouth-peninsula