THE pineapple sculptures will be returning to the Ridgeway to greet visitors to Weymouth.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council has agreed to relocate the stone pineapples to their original place on the road into town after months of campaigning from local groups.

Members of the management committee voted in favour of the proposal, which will cost the borough around £6,000, at a meeting on Tuesday, October 2.

The statues were given to the town from Weymouth Rotary Club in 2005 and put next to the old A354 on Ridgeway Hill.

They were moved by Dorset County Council when work on the relief road began and put at the entrance to the Mount Pleasant park and ride site.

The campaign to have them put back to their old location was taken up by Weymouth Civic Society.

Councillor Christine James said: “I have been contacted by the Civic Society and the point is the council relocated them without consultation.

“We did it without a by your leave and I would like to see them back.”

Speaking after the meeting secretary of the Civic Society Gerald Mabb said they are delighted with the move.

He said: “We welcome this decision and are pleased to see something moving at last.”

However some people are not happy with the plan and spoke at the meeting to voice their opinions.

Stephen Elsworth said he thought it would be a waste of money and pose a hazard to motorists.

He said: “It really upsets me they want to spend £6,000 to move two lumps of concrete from one side of town to the other.

“The risk of fatality would increase – with cars travelling 50 to 60mph motorists wouldn’t be able to read the inscriptions.”

Councillor Ian Bruce said he thought the pineapples should be alongside a road with a slower speed limit.

He said: “They need to be in a place where there’s a 30mph limit and where they would look good, that’s more important than having them on the boundary of the borough.

“This is something the county council should do, they are the road authority and have clearly upset their constituents.”

The borough council will now act to return the pineapples to the Ridgeway and to undertake securing necessary planning approval from West Dorset District Council as the site is in its boundary.