WEYMOUTH Town Council has shown its support for a new restaurant above Weyfish.

The fishmongers are planning a refit to their shop and to open a first-floor restaurant above the premises.

The plans went before the town council’s planning committee.

Cllr Jon Orrell praised Weyfish for ‘revitalising’ a building which had gone into a state of ‘disrepair’.

He said: “They’ve also supported local fishermen by giving them a new market and increasing the revenue available to them.

“This move to establish a restaurant is a logical extension. It means that local fish from our seas will be cooked locally, so it’s a win-win situation.

“It’s all local, and I’m very much in favour of this.”

The town council voted unanimously to support the plans, which will go to Dorset Council for a final decision.

Cllr Lucy Hamilton, chairman of the planning committee, said: “Can we please record a warm welcome for this initiative.”

If approved the new restaurant will create two full-time and two part-time jobs, opening from noon to 11pm Monday to Friday and Sunday, and for an extra half hour until 11.30pm on Saturdays. Plans submitted suggest that it will have around 40 covers.

The quayside Portland stone building is listed, grade 2, and is the town’s former fish market dating from 1855, then uses for twice weekly mainly outdoor markets. It was later listed as being ‘Sanders Coal Store’ by the 1880s and in the early to mid-1970s was used as a council store for fertiliser and beach equipment, with repair and restoration work returning it to fish processing, wholesale and retail use by 1985.

The application for the change of use and refit says that Weyfish was acquired by local businessman Sean Cooper and fisherman Bob Hope in late 2017.

The proposals for the ground floor involve a larger retail shop area with chilled display counters on three sides and a glass sided display tank on the fourth.

The preparation areas behind the display counters will be open to view with new walk-in fridge and freezer compartments against the north wall alongside a range of receiving/storage tanks. These, and the display tank, will be fed with circulating sea water via the existing quay wall pump and underground piping. The lower panes on all three windows will be adapted to open as serveries for oysters, crab and shellfish.

The new restaurant will be accessed via a lift and spiral staircase with the kitchen area open to view and the roof timbers exposed to create a feature.