PROPOSALS to protect Weymouth from flooding have taken another step – but it could still be another four or five years before any significant work begins.

In the event of a one in 200 year storm happening today around a thousand households would be at risk and up to 400 businesses.

Dorset councillors on Tuesday backed a proposal for more detailed flood modelling and in-depth site investigation to be carried out prior to a final case for funding going to the Environment Agency.

The benefits of the scheme to Weymouth have been estimated at around £470million and could create a thousand new jobs.

Dorset Council believes that for every £1 spent on protecting the harbour and seafront the town will see a return of £9 in economic benefits.

Many areas of the town centre are already at the highest level of flood risk with rising sea levels and climate change exacerbating the problem year by year. New building in some parts of the town now have to install flood measures and have flood escape routes built into them.

The bid for the next stage of the massive project was approved by the council’s place and resources overview committee on Tuesday and will now go to Cabinet towards the end of the month when it is expected to be signed off.

More than 200 pages spelt out the risks to parts of the town and surrounding areas from flooding and coastal erosion.

Said a report to councillors from the authority’s major projects team: “Without investment in managing this flood and erosion risk, Weymouth faces increasing direct losses through flooded assets and infrastructure and indirect impacts such as a failing property market due to blight and increasing social deprivation.”

The council’s defence strategy is based around a comprehensive programme of wall replacement and wall raising around both the Harbour and Esplanade frontages. Some of this work, most recently on the wall (D) near the Pavilion has just been completed, while a detailed examination of the other structures is already underway, many of which are now past their design life.

Dorset Echo: Wall D in Weymouth harbour – where the wall was recently raised in height and strengthened.Wall D in Weymouth harbour – where the wall was recently raised in height and strengthened.

If Cabinet agree the council will submit a strategic outline case to the Environment Agency’s Large Project Review Group, which deals only with projects over £10million. This could be put forward in August and if agreed by September work would then start to finalise a business case, costing £1.6m to produce, outlining how the overall scheme, likely to cost at least £115m, is be funded.

If all goes well detained design work and consents would follow in 2023-24 with the initial construction phase starting in winter 2024/25 and likely then to continue for at least another 15 years.

Councillors have been told that If a one in 200 year flood were to happen in Weymouth today which breached the existing walls 985 households would be at Intermediate risk of flooding, rising to 1,369 households at risk of very significant risk of flooding by 2120.