Why can’t the council borrow the money to keep Condor?

I am struggling to understand why Weymouth and Portland Borough Council is allowing three quarters of a million pounds a year to slip through its fingers with the sad departure of Condor from the port.

We’re told a £10million investment is needed at the Weymouth terminal to accommodate the new larger Condor ferries.

The council does not have the money to invest so has to lose the business.

This can’t be right.

When businesses invest in projects, they seek grants and borrow money.

Surely there is some grant funding available for this sort of economic regeneration, which is so important for the town’s prosperity?

The council could even borrow the necessary cash and get a very respectable 7.5 per cent return – enough to pay off the interest and still make a decent return for the town. It would be interesting to know what efforts have been made by the council to keep the Condor business because as we all know, it’s easy to lose business in today’s climate but much harder to win it back.

Alastair Nisbet Mellstock Avenue Dorchester