COUNCIL chiefs are preparing to submit a planning application for a redevelopment scheme to transform Weymouth's harbour gateway into a leisure zone.

It comes after Weymouth and Portland Borough Council consulted on ambitious plans for the Pavilion peninsula.

Council chiefs say the regeneration of this landmark site is now 'ready to go'.

The peninsula occupies a prominent location containing the Pavilion

Theatre, Jurassic Skyline, harbour facilities, the former ferry terminal and a car park. The Pavilion and Jurassic Skyline are not affected by the development.

The council, which is proposing a mixture of new, indoor-leisure buildings, hotels and restaurants, and harbour improvements in a bid to 'breathe life' into this landmark site, wanted to engage with residents before submitting a planning application.

Following public events at which more than 200 people had a say, an online survey was conducted to gather views – and more than 700 people including residents, trader and hoteliers responded.

While there was strong support for all-weather leisure attractions and walkways, a concealed car park and a larger mid-range hotel received least

support.

There was little support from businesses in particular for the inclusion of hotels and restaurants in the scheme, the council says.

Findings showed that some 52 per cent of people felt that the draft scheme overall was ‘very good’ or ‘good’ and 27 per cent felt it was fair.

Now the council is considering the responses before submitting an outline planning application to establish principles of development on the site, including size and scale.

Leader of Weymouth & Portland Borough Council Cllr Jeff Cant said: “At last after three years of hard work the first of our three major regeneration projects is ready to go.

"The overall findings from our consultation with the community are very positive about the development of this iconic site. Our thanks go to everyone who took part for their constructive comments, which will be considered as part of our outline planning application and the more detailed design work to come.

“We are publishing a snapshot of these results straight away but a further opportunity will be available shortly when we submit our outline planning application.”

The council says peninsula project is part of plans to transform Weymouth and Portland into a vibrant, year-round destination for visitors and provide more leisure facilities for residents, while complementing other facilities and businesses in the town.

The survey results showed responses from a broad age range with a strong response from younger age groups in favour of the scheme.

Overall reasons for support included improvement of the whole area and the provision of year-round facilities for locals and visitors.

The most popular design principles were public access to all harbour frontages, low-rise development to fit in with the seafront and the focus on maritime uses on the harbour side.

Less popular items within the proposals were the larger mid-range hotel and boutique hotel and restaurant.

Onsite parking received a divided response with some residents keen to see the parking be expanded upon, whilst others felt the site should be pedestrianised, or for parking to be removed completely.

The council is currently awaiting a detailed transport report which will help set out the best way forward, whilst keeping with sustainable strategies set out by Dorset County Council as the local transport authority.

There were 26 survey responses from organisations, businesses and hoteliers based in the town with over half of these expressing concern about the development of additional hotels on the site.

Cllr Cant said: “Understandably, some hoteliers and B&B owners have concerns about the proposed hotels, but our aim is to complement existing businesses rather than compete with them and we are convinced that the additional year round footfall will provide a real boost to our hardworking hoteliers in season, and most importantly during the autumn and winter months.

“Increased footfall driven by the peninsula and a greater reputation as an excellent year-round holiday resort will seek to benefit all of our local businesses”