In the past couple of days I have been approached by a number of residents who, having read the Echo's coverage of the Council meeting that approved the master Plan for the Pavilion/Ferry Terminal site, were left wondering why the Council voted by 20 votes to 8 to approve the plan.

While the report made much of the public contributions, there was less mention of the debate between Councillors or their thinking behind supporting the Master Plan.

In many of the contributions from both the public and Councillors that there was general consensus that something must be done.

Councillors voting against approval of the Master Plan expressed many of the concerns made by members of the public.

Their comments included references to a belief that the site would be over developed. As a result there would be too many apartments and the landmark building would be too tall.

In addition they said there was a lack of information on which to judge the possible impact on the beach.

Many councillors voting for approval of the Plan also expressed caution over the details which will have to be developed before planning consent could be granted.

All councillors re-emphasised the Council's existing position on the marina i.e. a marina would not be permitted if studies showed an unacceptable impact on the beach or harbour.

In the speeches made by councillors who supported the approval of the Plan, some councillors pointed to the lack of success of obtaining investment for either the Theatre or the whole site by other approaches.

Previously the Council has tried to involve the private sector in the direct management of and investment in the Theatre, has made applications for Arts Lottery and other grant funding, and sought alternative development proposals.

Some councillors emphasised that we had tried to market the site for purely leisure and tourism uses over a period of 13 years without any success. They also referred to the need for a redevelopment to reduce future running costs of the Theatre and new community space.

Some councillors wanted to point out that there was an opportunity to increase the attractiveness of the whole area for the use the public; whilst a new 4 star hotel, along with a world heritage centre and large community space would mean more and different visitors.

Many Councillors saw this decision as contributing to the Council's number one objective of improving the economy in terms of investment, jobs and wage levels.

A number of councillors spoke of the significant gains to be achieved because of the requirement on the developers to make sure at least 30% of the housing was affordable.

Finally several councillors spoke of the special responsibilities that they believed they carry and the need to get decisions right for the benefit of the future of the Borough, particularly for our youth.

These are the points of discussion that influenced our Councillors to approve the Master Plan by 20 votes to 8.

One final point, can I emphasis that a scheme has not been approved. Over the next few months, the specialist report on the impact of a marina on the beach and harbour will be considered and after that the developer will produce a detailed scheme and seek planning consent.

There will be a wide ranging consultation on the details of a scheme produced by the developer and only after that will a final decision be taken.

Tom Grainger, Chief Executive, Weymouth & Portland Borough Council.