COUNCIL chiefs have been forced into a major rethink over plans for a revamp of the beach chalets at Greenhill in Weymouth after they were designated as Grade II listed buildings.

Proposals by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council included 49 new chalets as well as a restaurant, new tennis courts, crazy golf facility and an events area.

However, the whole plan has now had to go back to the drawing board after the chalets were listed by the Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of English Heritage.

Corporate director of environment for the borough council Richard Burgess has warned that the authority may be left with no option but to close the beach huts, as it appears unlikely to receive outside funding for the project.

With the difficulties of obtaining planning permission for a listed building and other responsibilities listing entails, Mr Burgess believes any potential partners would be put off from investing in the scheme.

He said: "The decision to list it is, in our view, a surprise in light of the condition they are in. We are now pretty much back to square one.

"The previous proposal was investigating the redevelopment of the two-tier chalets to deal with structural problems, in partnership with the private sector.

"It was already difficult to attract interest from the private sector but, in the context of listed buildings, it becomes much more difficult.

"The likelihood is that if no partners are interested it becomes a more expensive exercise and the council will have to consider whether it can fund it.

"Given the limited capital resources the council has we will have to consider the options and one of the options is to close the lot and do nothing.

"If we are going to spend a million pounds to refurbish them, there are a lot of things people might think are more important."

A spokesman for English Heritage said: "The beach chalets at Greenhill Gardens fully meet the listing criteria.

"They are rare and well-preserved examples of early and elaborately designed beach huts, set in pleasure grounds.

"They are remarkably intact example of interwar seaside changing facilities, with little permanent alteration.

"Their terraced, two-storey design, providing both open and covered walkways and linking them to the beach and gardens, is believed to be innovative."

Mr Burgess said council representatives would now be meeting with English Heritage before considering their options and he suggested they might look at the possibility of contesting the decision to list the buildings.

He said: "There is a formal appeal process and we will be considering whether we have got any grounds."