Weymouth Neighbourhood Plan endorsed at full council meeting

After around two and a half hours it was finally decided at the Weymouth town council full council meeting that the application would be put through to the next stage.

A total of 17 councillors voted for the plan, whilst six voted against, one abstained and one was not present due to sickness.

The meeting was attended by the full town council, members of the public and members of Weymouth steering group.

At the beginning of the meeting, residents were given the chance to speak, sharing both what they liked about the plan and what they were concerned about and then it went to councillors to debate.

One of the major concerns shared was in relation to housing plans across Wyke Oliver Farm in Preston which has been allocated for 250 homes (incl. 125 affordable homes), as well as land near Beverly Road in Littlemoor which has been allocated for 25 homes (incl. 12 affordable homes) and green space.

Wyke Oliver Farm (Image: NQ)

Other key points of the plan include prioritising new affordable homes for local residents - particularly young families and key workers - constraining new development in the town centre to stop properties becoming second homes, restricting the number of HMOs in areas where there is already plenty, and making land available for public open space or green space.

After a long debate, the overriding message appeared to be that ‘it was better to have a plan than no plan at all,’ and the council ultimately came to the decision to vote in favour of the plan.

Lara Wood is a Weymouth resident and member of the steering group. She is also an ex-teacher and explained that it was because of that that she made sure that the group reached out to schools in the area to get the feedback of young people as ‘these are the people that the plan is going to affect the most.’

She said: “Over 500 young people aged five to 19 were asked what they wanted to see in the future,” this included jobs, houses and to minimise the loss of trees and hedges

The area covered in the plan is the largest in Dorset and one of the biggest in England - and sets policies for Weymouth's future development up to 2038. 

Cllr Peter Dickenson said: “We had five days to go over a document which will impact the next 14 years.

“The Wyke Oliver Farm risk of flooding is worse than the Budmouth Brackendown area (which was struck off the plan). The plan has many good points so with a few improvements I am sure a satisfactory plan can be reached.

Cllr Louie O’Leary said: “This plan decides the future of Weymouth for years to come. If this gets to referendum, my residents will have a reason to go out and vote. It should be deferred and looked at in more detail when we have had more time to look at it in detail.

“We should take councillors out of the steering group and hand it back to the residents.”

Cllr David Harris said: “This might be the most important debate at the town council since it was created in 2019. We don’t need to shove this to one side as we will be getting further consultation after Christmas.”

READ MORE: Plan for the future includes sites for 425 homes, transport hub and employment areas

He further added that a lot of people would benefit, whilst others ‘may suffer a little bit.’

Cllr David Northam, Chair of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, introduced the report on the plan and said afterwards: “I thank members of the Steering Group for their hard work assessing the response to the statutory consultation, determining the changes to the Plan and their eloquence in commending the plan to the Council.

“I also, thank my fellow councillors for recognising that this plan is for the benefit of future generations and will increase the number of affordable homes in Weymouth whilst protecting our wonderful environment and supporting our local communities which makes Weymouth such a special place.”