LYN Cooch, of Dorset County Council’s countryside service Dorset Countryside, said she and her team were ‘very disappointed’ the committee had turned down the Legacy Trail design.

Ms Cooch, right, said: “We have been out doing public consultation on this and on the whole we felt we were getting favourable feedback.

“The information points were designed to engage young people and they were about engaging a new audience and to raise awareness of the natural environment in the borough.

“We’re very disappointed because we had worked very hard to ensure this was a very high quality installation.

“There will still be funding for the legacy trail. We will carry on and look at a way to promote it as best we can.”

The design for the Legacy Trail was prepared by the Coastal Ranger Team on behalf of the Wild About Weymouth and Portland Partnership (WAWAP).

The Legacy Trail is part of Natural England’s Access to Nature’s Wild About Weymouth and Portland Partnership Project, made up of the Dorset Wildlife Trust, the RSPB, Dorset County Council, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and is funded by the Big Lottery. Extra funding has been provided by a South West Coast Path team programme.