Hundreds of people have already had their say on the vision for Weymouth town centre.
Weymouth & Portland Borough Council is leading a strategy to deliver a brighter future for the town with community involvement at the heart of the plan.
Pop-up events were held last week on Weymouth Esplanade where residents, business owners and visitors to the town could come and chat to council officers and give their views.
More pop-up sessions will be held over the next few weeks and people can also submit comments by visiting www.dorsetforyou.com/brighterwey
The next sessions are:
- Tuesday 26 August – New Bond Street, 9.30am – 5.30pm
- Wednesday 27 August – New Bond Street, 9.30am – 5.30pm
- Thursday 28 August – Weymouth train station approach, 9.30am – 12.30pm
Further events will be announced in due course.
The events will give residents and businesses the chance to identify what they feel are the most important and relevant issues for putting together the masterplan.
The masterplan will guide how the town centre is developed over the next 10 years.
The vision for the plan is to create a thriving town centre that is a vibrant place to live, work and play, which offers diversity in housing, amenities and services.
Cllr Ray Nowak, Briefholder for Economic Regeneration at Weymouth & Portland Borough Council, said: “Thank you to everyone who has got involved so far and had their say on the plan.
“There is still plenty of time to have your say and we really want everyone to get involved and work together for the benefit of the town.”
The borough council is leading the plan and is limited in the amount of investment it can make directly, but funding is hoped to be raised by working in partnership with developers. The council also can’t change things like business rates which are set by central government or control the cost of rent, house prices or cost of premises.
Having listened to feedback from the public, local businesses and partners, a working group will look at providing a direction and focus to develop the plan. It is hoped an agreed strategy will be in place by early 2015.
The areas the plan will cover include the harbourside, town centre shopping area, Esplanade, around the train station and Pavilion peninsula.
The plan will also take into account Condor Ferries’ decision on whether to continue to operate from the peninsula site.
A meeting with Condor that was due to take place on 19 August to discuss the company’s future in Weymouth was postponed by the ferry operator. The meeting has now been rescheduled for September.
For more information about the masterplan visit www.dorsetforyou.com/brighterwey
