Weymouth North Quay site may be demolished in 2023

The derelict former WPBC council headquarters, along with the former East Dorset District Council HQ at Furzehill, both remain un-sold after more than three years and it could be some time before any significant property or land sales are achieved.

Dorset Council acquired the North Quay site after the local government reorganisation in 2019, and in January 2021 unveiled plans for a luxury development of 72 housing units and two ground-floor non-residential units at the harbourside site, stating that a planning application would be submitted in early summer 2021.

The council has stated it wants to partner up with a developer for the project, rather than sell off the site, and has previously said it planned to hold a tender exercise in spring 2022 in a bid to get a development partner on board.

But a government grant to help with demolition cost cannot be accessed until terms and conditions are satisfied.

And there are concerns after a previous demolition plan was refused planning permission in 2019, because of a national planning policy to convert older buildings, where possible.

Artist impression for the proposed North Quay scheme - and inset, the former WPBC offices before recent vandalism (Images: Dorset Council) (Image: Dorset Council)

Despite the delays Dorset Council's cabinet member with responsibility for the site, cllr Tony Ferrari, insists that a planning application to demolish the building will be submitted in the new year.  

Meanwhile there has been a noticeable decline in the building's condition over recent months, following a spate of vandalism.

• Read more: Residents' anger over wrecked North Quay building

Dorset Council said security for North Quay is sub-contracted to a local firm which regularly monitors the building, which has now been secured following a recent break-in.

Weymouth's North Quay site has been targeted by vandals (Image: Ellie Maslin/Newsquest) (Image: Ellie Maslin, Newsquest)

There was also concern that the estimated £3million cost of the demolition and levelling the site for use as a car park would come out of the public purse - and fears that the harbourside land might remain as a car park for several years.

Cllr Ferrari said: "We intend to submit an updated planning application for demolition of North Quay in the new year. In preparation for this we are undertaking some technical appraisal work with our appointed consultants and the application is being drawn up.

"It is still the council's aim to bring this key regeneration site back in to active use in the town and we must follow the same planning process as everyone else.

“As Dorset Council is both the landowner and the planning authority, we cannot comment any further on the application so as not to pre-determine the outcome. Once an application has been submitted, local people will have a chance to comment on it in the usual way."

Catch-22: North Quay grant blocked by red tape

After a succession of schemes that failed to get off the ground, hopes were raised when, in October 2021, the council announced it had received £943,255 of central government funding to help redevelop the brownfield site into homes.

A local firm is said to be keeping an eye on the site - but there has been increased vandalism (Image: Ellie Maslin/Newsquest) (Image: Ellie Maslin, Newsquest)

But yesterday the council admitted it cannot access the money until further progress is made on the project.

Cllr Ferrari said: "The Brownfield Release Fund money awarded last year to help fund the demolition of North Quay is subject to conditions relating to the sale or development of the site, and so are not yet available to the council."

Dorset Council's property portfolio 'may be worth half a BILLION pounds'

During a meeting of Dorset Council's place and resources scrutiny committee on Thursday, members were told that all the council's assets could be worth at least £0.5 billion although the authority is still not sure about everything it owns.

Councillors were told that Dorset Council officers are still working through its list of assets and is unlikely to be able to produce a definitive list until 2024, although some key decisions could be agreed in May next year.

The process of pulling the list of land and properties together has been slowed by Covid and a shortage of staff.

The committee heard that although the council is not certain of all its assets - many of them passed on from previous authorities in 2019 - the small percentage yet to be positively identified is likely to be small areas of land, such as verges or small play spaces.

'Disappointed' 

Former East Dorset district councillor Barry Gorringe told the committee he was disappointed that the previous district council offices at Furzehill on the outskirts of Wimborne remained unsold, despite being put on the market before reorganisation at an asking price of £5million.

"It's just sat there, doing nothing," he said.

The officer in charge of the council's assets, Peter Hopkins, said part of the reason for slow progress had been down to Covid, occasionally because of inadequate records passed over from previous authorities, and "the council's estates function being totally under-resourced at the moment because of a combination of staff leaving and being unable to fill specialist posts."

The meeting heard that the assets exercise was not simply about identifying and selling land or property: each had to be considered for possible future uses; for alternative uses such as housing or business, and what the realistic chances of achieving an open-market sale were at a fair price.

In some cases a transfer to town or parish councils, or to a community group, also has to be considered.

The result of the exercise so far is a list of around 20 properties, or parcels of land, which the council believes should be its priority for action.

Further consideration is expected to be given to the asset management plan in the spring.