A TINY sandworm has given plans for a major marina and boat park development on Portland a scare.

The Olympic Delivery Authority has applied to build on the island, including a boat park and slipways.

Marina operators Dean & Reddyhoff want to build a 650-berth marina. Both schemes involve reclamation works in Portland Harbour.

But Weymouth and Portland Borough Council planners will be told tomorrow that a protected species known as Armandia Cirrhosa, or the Lagoon Sandworm, lives in seabed areas affected by the proposals.

They will hear that development work could destroy an area greater than the size of four football pitches.

The threat to nature posed by both schemes has resulted in talks with such groups as Natural England and the Environment Agency.

They are now happy with both developments after helping to produce a legally-binding series of nearly 50 agreements and conditions for one or both schemes.

They are designed to cover everything from the sandworm and its seabed habitat to avoiding disturbance to birds spending winter in the area.

The policies also protect pollution and drainage problems, and include curbs to shield residents as much as possible from disturbance and loss of amenity caused by work.

The Olympic Delivery Authority scheme off Hamm Beach Road proposes reclamation work to provide hard standing for a boat park with slipways, a pier and a crane.

If approved it would see an existing hardstanding area extended out from the foreshore by 30 to 100 metres. It would involve some loss of seabed, so a condition attached to any approval for the scheme includes sediment monitoring after the scheme is completed.

This would quickly flag up any changes which might affect the remaining habitat of the sandworm, which studies now show is far more widespread in the harbour than was previously thought.

Dean & Reddyhoff's project, affecting land off North Shore, involves creating a 650-berth marina covering 18 hectares with 3.6 hectares for a club house, restaurant, retail and business units, parking, boat storage and maintenance.

Proposals also include new breakwaters with the use of Portland Stone being a key feature.

A report to the meeting praises the Sailing Academy expansion as very significant for the borough' because it would provide improved facilities not just for the 2012 Olympics but also long-term facilities for Weymouth and Portland.

The report also backs the marina as having significant, economic and social-community benefits'.

Councillors must still consider several bones of contention, with the developments ranging from concerns by architecture experts over design to the rumbling threat to residents from lorries delivering up to 100,000 tonnes of material for the schemes.

Members of tomorrow's Weymouth and Portland Borough Council planning and traffic committee are being recommended to delegate permission for both schemes to planning manager Simon Williams, subject to the agreements and conditions being confirmed.