THE near £1m transformation of Weymouth rail station has been given the green light by Dorset Council's Cabinet - despite objections which argue that the proposals for the site should be reconsidered.

The proposed station gateway scheme is a joint project between Dorset Council and South Western Railway to improve access and make the area more inviting.

The proposals are for a reconfiguration of the station forecourt including alteration to access and parking arrangements, creation of a new exit for vehicles onto King Street, and public realm works including a controversial 'pocket park' linking King Street and Jubilee Retail Park.

One of the design objects of the project is to simplify the one-way system which could involve a change of priority in Queen Street for cars and vans exiting the station area and to make the whole area more attractive with more greenery and planters.

Better cycle facilities are also planned and safer links to the town for pedestrians – along with design measures, including better lighting, to deter anti-social behaviour and make the area feel safer.

New bus stops within the forecourt and on King Street are said to bring up to four services to the area in the summer months, although there has been public criticism that on-site bus space is inadequate. It could also mean changes to the junction of King Street and the Esplanade to allow right turns for buses towards the King's Statue.

Dorset Council's Cabinet have now agreed to enter into a contract with Hanson Contracting for delivery of the building work which was subject to any funding shortfall being secured and planning consent obtained.

Cllr Ray Bryan, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment at Dorset Council, said: "The Weymouth Gateway project is looking at redesigning the forecourt through community and stakeholder consultations so that it can become a more welcoming, attractive and contemporary place.

"I think anyone that has visited the Weymouth station area in recent years will see that there is essential work that needs to take place to make this a major focal point for when visitors visit Weymouth.

"An original report said the council had a shortfall in funding. This has now been overcome and we now have full funding for this project."

The total cost to deliver the improvements is £997,096 and includes a £450,000 grant from the South Western Railway Customer and Communities Improvement Fund. The remainder of the funding has been provided by Dorset Council, Public Health Dorset, Weymouth BID and Weymouth Town Council.

Cllr Bryan added: "This project is absolutely essential for the growth of Weymouth it is a major major focal point for visitors when they first arrive and we need to give the right impression.

"It will also work very hard at making the site a very safe place for people to come and visit."

However, Cllr Brian Heatley, speaking on behalf of himself and Cllr Jon Orrell, who was unable to attend the cabinet meeting, said: "We feel that we are trying to pursue too many objectives with this proposal.

"Yes, it would be nice to make it attractive to visitors, it would be nice to do something about anti-social behaviour in the area and it would be quite nice to provide lots of parking for people - but this site has one unique advantage which nowhere else has got. It is a site for transport interchange because it is where the station is and we feel that that aspect of it has not been adequately prioritised in this proposal.

"It will serve only four bus services out of the 17 or so which serve Weymouth in one way or another.

"I know the site is very constrained in terms of its size but if we take out the car parking from the site and didn’t do some of the 'prettification', moved the car parking for the station to Jubilee Sidings, we would have a much bigger site and we could make a real transport interchange. That's crucially important in terms of the climate emergency. We need a major move to public transport and one of the things that makes public transport attractive is making it easy for more people to move from one form of transport to another.

"We feel that the chance to do something about that main objective has been lost with this particular proposal, and we would urge you not to agree it today and to think again."

Environment Advice Manager, Bridget Betts, said: "It is not council land, it is network rail land and we have worked with the railway station to look at all eventualities of the site.

"They want to keep the car park and to have four buses and they thought this was a good start.

"By not doing it I’m not sure this opportunity would come round again in the future.

"This is what everybody agreed on."