Agenda item

Application WP/18/00010/VOC - (variation of condition 2  regarding size and location details of facilities) of planning permission 10/00118/FUL3 (Arrangement and design of beach attractions and kiosks)

Variation of Conditions 1 and 2 - to relocate the attraction sites A3 and A4 and combine these with site A5 to be tendered as one site. Provide an Observation Wheel on the current A6 site.

Cllr O’Leary and Cllr Bown left the room at 11:29.

Cllr Wheller and Cllr Northam moved to the public speaker’s section of the Council Chamber.

The Senior Planning Officer presented the application for the variation of a condition on a planning permission granted in 2018, to combine attraction sites on Weymouth seafront and create an additional site for an observation wheel.

The location of the site was shown, which ran along the length of the seafront, however the changes proposed were limited to moving sites A3 and A4 and combining them with A5 and situating an observation wheel on A6. The current and revised schedule of attractions was shown to members.

A photo of the type of wheel that would be situated was shown, to give an indication of the size and design of the proposed wheel and it was noted that a condition would require that the attractions were removed over the winter months. The wheel would be no taller than 33m and would include at least one accessible gondola and no concrete foundations would be required.

The nearby listed buildings and the Conservation Area were highlighted on a map of Weymouth. The key planning issues were summarised and the application was considered acceptable with the benefits of bringing in visitors to the town centre offsetting the impact to heritage assets.

Public representations in objection to the application were received from Mr Tiller, Mr Palucsis and Mr Jessop, who raised concerns about the safety of the structure and questioned whether the wheel would be able to fit onto the size of plot that was allocated. In addition, they did not believe that the wheel represented the type of attraction that would improve Weymouth town centre.

The representative of the applicant Mrs Denny, Cllr Northam and Cllr Wheller spoke in support of the application, noting that the attraction would be in an appropriate area and would help to bring in visitors to Weymouth and generate additional income.  

In response to the public speaker’s the Senior Planning Officer clarified that it would be down to the applicant to ensure that the wheel would fit on the allocated plot and to ensure the safety of the structure.

Cllr Northam and Cllr Wheller left the Council Chamber at 11:59.

In response to questions from members the Senior Planning Officer provided the following responses:

·       Consultation had taken place with Historic England to decide on the appropriate amount of time the wheel could be situated and it was determined that it would be acceptable to remove the wheel between October and March.

·       The time span that the wheel would be removed would be consistent with the other attractions on the seafront.

Having had the opportunity to debate the merits of the application, several members expressed support for the proposal noting the economic benefits.

Proposed that permission be granted as per the officer recommendation (as per the update sheet) by Cllr Kimber and seconded by Cllr Roper.

Decision: That the application be granted subject to conditions set out in the appendix to these minutes.