A NEW ‘Weymouth Eye’ tower could be built in time for the 2012 Olympics at a cost of £3m, the Echo can exclusively reveal today.

The 53-metre (174-feet) observational tower would stand on the Pavilion peninsular and give visitors a spectacular bird’s eye view of the Olympic sailing events and the Jurassic Coast.

Details of the proposals can be seen by the public at an exhibition later this month.

The company behind the plan is Merlin Entertainments whose portfolio includes the Sea Life attractions and two of England’s most iconic structures – the London Eye and Blackpool Tower.

Merlin has held discussions with Weymouth and Portland Borough Council planning chiefs about installing the permanent all-year-round tourist attraction and has now submitted an application to construct the tower in the corner of the Ferry terminal car park near the Pavilion.

Once finished 50 people at a time will enter a round ‘observation pod’ on the ground which will slowly spin as it rises enabling those inside to get a 360-degree view as it ascends.

At the top, customers should be able to see for at least 15 miles along the Jurassic Coast as far as Kimmeridge Bay and other landmarks before the pod spins slowly back down to the ground during a 10-minute viewing experience.

It will be a paid-for attraction but the cost is still undecided.

James Burleigh, Merlin Entertai-nments divisional director, said he believes the tower will provide a longer legacy for attracting tourists than the Olympics.

He said: “We believe that this will generate much longer term interest in the town and what it has to offer and that the new observation tower would provide an important new attraction for the town.

“The design we have chosen and our experience in operating observation attractions also means that Merlin is uniquely qualified for such a fast start project and we are certainly hoping that the people of Weymouth support the scheme and enjoy the tower for years to come.”

The new structure will tower over the Pavilion and the rest of the town with those inside free to stand or sit down.

Between two and ten members of staff are expected to run the attraction depending on the time of year.

Merlin has been operating the Sea Life Park in Weymouth for more than 30 years and has come up with the tower idea to capitalise on the benefits it sees in having more than one attr-action in a town.

It hopes to capitalise on promotional gains and staff savings by using shared resou-rces.

Also among its 24 attractions in the UK are the London Eye and the Blackpool Tower – which is three times higher than the proposed tower in Weymouth.

Craig Dunkerley became general manager of the Sea Life Park in Weymouth six weeks ago.

He said the idea for the tower was first generated six months ago and talks have since been held with the council to find the best location.

He said: “It’s a good location and when we spoke to the council we found that was the area they wanted to develop anyway.”

Mr Dunkerley said Merlin hoped to have the attraction ready before the Olympics.

The tower will be on the beach side of the ferry terminal car park next to the sea.

The pathway next to the sea which leads to the Pleasure Pier will remain unaffected.

• A public exhibition will be held by Merlin Entertainments at the Hotel Prince Regent on The Esplanade from 12pm to 8pm on Friday, June 17 and from 10am to 3pm Saturday, June 18.