THE original budget for the move from the council office was, I understand, in the order of £400,000.
Cllr Ian Bruce was later reported as stating that ‘it is difficult to keep track of costs it just grows like Topsy’.
How much over £1million did it actually cost?
Cllr Bruce described the sale of the council building as ‘a rare and fantastic opportunity’.
Planning permission was obtained by the council to demolish this ugly building and replace it with a development of 72 homes and 216 sq m of commercial space to facilitate an unconditional sale.
This proposed development was said to be the first stage of the Weymouth Town Centre master plan.
Now it would appear all we are likely to get is the retention of this ugly concrete block housing residential flats unaffordable by most local residents for the commercial advantage of the developments.
Cllr Bruce’ reaction to this state of affairs is ‘wait and see’. We are all horribly used to knowing what this means. This is a disgrace.
In the days before he became chairman of the management committee, Cllr Bruce headed up tourism and under his care the TIC on the esplanade was closed and there is no longer an information centre officially run by the council. In a town almost totally reliant upon tourism Cllr Bruce said he did not think this would matter. This is a disgrace.
It does not need to detail the horror stories of past planning decisions made by our council over the years, residents are all too well of the disasters which blight our inner harbour, pier, esplanade and town generally causing it to look shabby and uninviting to tourists other than our outstanding natural coastline which the council cannot interfere with.
Cllr Bruce has obviously realised the effect his council’s decisions have made on the town by closing the tourist information centre and supporting the closure of the centre in Dorchester which is nothing to do with him.
In the process he may seek justification by re-inventing himself as ‘Mr Angry’ but I am sure he is not nearly as angry as the general public of Weymouth who have to suffer our councillors. This is a disgrace.
COLIN LAWLEY
Dorchester
Send your letters to letters@dorsetecho.co.uk or post them to Have Your Say, Dorset Echo, Hampshire Road, Weymouth, DT4 9XD
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