THE next stage in finalising a blueprint for a major regeneration scheme at West Bay takes place next week.

Detailed costings for a range of capital programmes planned to enhance the new multi million sea defence scheme will be considered by district councillors.

Members of the community development overview and scrutiny committee will decide on Wednesday their financial priorities for advancing the enhancement programme.

Options considered so far have ranged from promoting the resort as a buzzy place with a Continental feel, beach bars and outside music to encouraging its role as a resort which embraces minimum change and low key tourism.

Favoured projects in the Vision for West Bay have included:

,,h New toilets near the old station building

,,h Using the old station building as a small refreshment shop

,,h Improving cyclist and pedestrian links to East Beach

,,h Re-establishing natural plants on West Cliff coastal path

But the district council has warned that to implement all these projects would be costly and it is unlikely they could all go ahead.

Last October the costings exercise was broken down into four main sections:

,,h A traffic management exercise sponsored by Dorset County Council using DEC and Buro Happold as consultants.

,,h A landscape architecture exercise, funded by the environmental regeneration team using the Landscape Practice as consultants and focusing on public realm and link routes around West Bay, liaising closely with the traffic management exercise.

,,h An options report on The Mound building and surroundings, commissioned by the engineering Division, using Architect Design Partnership of Yeovil as consultants.

Wednesdays committee meeting will hear that existing costings for other elements of the scheme V public conveniences, angling jetty, harbour infrastructure, signage V are now considered satisfactory for the purposes of decision-making at this stage.

Now the committee will consider the relative priority of individual works based on the councils operational requirements, corporate priorities and previous public consultation and whether they are acceptable in terms of planning guidance.

And members will be asked to decide to what degree the council is willing to compromise on principles included in the planning guidance for the George Street Boatyard to help fund capital works at West Bay. Other considerations for the committee are:

,,h How much of the cost will fall on the districts limited resources.

,,h To what degree Dorset County Council is willing to make highway improvements, and its ability to fund changes.

,,h Whether separate elements of the works can be phased and programmed over the next three years to minimise disruption and support financial programming.

,,h How much funding can realistically be anticipated from outside funding agencies.

The district council will be in a position by the end of February to have decided what level of works it wishes to carry out to supplement the coastal engineering scheme at West Bay V and have a reasonable idea of how to fund those works.

Once the council has decided what capital works to construct ,the Best Value Review team will then investigate the consequences of the changes on operational service management at West Bay and report to a future meeting of the community development and overview and scrutiny committee before a final go ahead.