Plans for a new museum in Weymouth town centre have halted amid a row over the funding application.

DJ Property, the owner of The Rectory St Thomas Street, has announced that plans to establish
a Jurassic Coast Visitor Centre and Museum at the property have been put on hold.

This follows a decision by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) not to invite the Jurassic Coast Trust (JCT) to apply for development stage funding.

The Echo reported that talks were on going to install the new centre at the historic Georgian property  - but the set back has now brought a stop to what could have been a landmark project for the town. 

The decision has left the property developers 'disappointed' and their CEO Mickey Jones has slammed the JCT's management of the funding application.

He said: “It’s incredibly disappointing to see this opportunity slip away.

 “We were fully committed to supporting JCT, offering every chance to make this project a success.

"However, despite our willingness to provide financial and professional assistance, it became evident that their team was unable to deliver the quality of work required to secure funding.”

When DJ Property first engaged with JCT, it was with the shared belief that The Rectory
represented an ideal opportunity to establish a museum and visitor centre that would
benefit both the local community and the wider Jurassic Coast.

However, concerns were raised early by the NLHF regarding JCT’s funding application, particularly around their high budgeted costs of the internal fit-out and long-term sustainability.

DJ Property has said that despite offering expert advice, JCT continued and these concerns were not addressed, leading to an unsuccessful application.

Consequently, JCT have pulled out of the project at The Rectory and will be focusing on other projects.

Mr Jones added: “We believe there is still potential for The Rectory to become a key part of the
Jurassic Coast’s offering.

“Despite the shortcomings in the process so far, we are still willing to assist and would welcome the chance to discuss how we can make this vision a reality.

READ: The Rectory building set to be restored by winter

"Unfortunately, we have not yet received any response from the chairman of JCT regarding our willingness to re-engage.

"We remain dismayed by this organisation’s lack of communication and apparent apathy from their highest management levels.”

These grievances from DJ Property were put to JCT CEO Lucy Culkin, who is also leaving her role at the end of the year.

She said: “JCT engaged a professional bid writer with vast experience of National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) grants to assist us in preparing our expression of interest application for capital funding.

"Unfortunately, in the current economic climate, we were not successful in proceeding to the next stages of the application process, which was a disappointment to us all. 

READ: Moonfleet authors links uncovered during Rectory restoration

"We pursued feedback from NHLF who advised that they were unlikely to fund any new museum development on the Jurassic Coast at this time and were as committed to investing in existing assets.

"The JCT remain committed to working with museums and visitor centres to protect and conserve the palaeontology from the site. 

"We thanked Mr Jones for the opportunity to work with him at the Rectory, but without securing substantial funding, this project could not proceed.”

DJ Property has invested an additional £130,000 into the restoration of the building, replacing all the windows and aims ot have the roof restored by the end of October.

It also said its 'dedication to Weymouth and The Rectory remains unwavering' and is 'exploring options' to ensure the building remains a 'valuable asset' for the town.