CUTS may need to be made to the redesign of the Weymouth rail station ‘gateway’ – unless extra funding can be guaranteed by October when work is due to start.
The project, which is designed to make the station area more welcoming, is reported to be more than £400,000 short of the expected total cost of just under £1m.
Dorset Council’s Cabinet will decide next week whether to cut back on some elements of the project to save money or to risk waiting for the outcome of grants, one of which will not be decided until October.
The Cabinet is also being asked to enter into an agreement with Hanson Contracting for the building work, “subject to the funding shortfall being secured and planning consent obtained.”
Despite the warnings in the report the risks to the council are rated as low.
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.
The main works are expected to start in October with a completion date of March 2022 although the Cabinet report says that work will not start unless the funding shortfall has been secured.
The Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, September 7 will be told that the total cost of the project is expected to be £997,096, with confirmed match funding of £587,000, leaving a funding shortfall of £410,096.
The majority of the costs, £718,000 is for construction works with £53,000 for changes to the National Rail owned site, £23,000 for landscaping, £21,000 for street lighting, £20,000 for ‘interpretation and wayfinding’ and £16,8000 for other items, which includes a CCTV upgrade.
A sum of £30,000 is included for Dorset Coastal Forum to manage the project with a £40,000 contingency sum built into the budget.
Cabinet members are being asked to consider two options to ensure the project is delivered: Look again at materials and some design aspects so that costs can be reduced, or wait to hear the outcome of £410,000 bids for further funding to make up the deficit with decisions on one expected imminently and the other in October.
The report concludes: “The capital delivery element of the project will not proceed if the funding shortfall is not confirmed.”
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