Fears Weymouth and Portland could miss out on Levelling-Up Funding
The government scheme will look at the needs of the county as a whole
Weymouth and Portland could miss out on levelling up funding if the two towns are lumped in with the rest of Dorset.
Dorset Council's applying for £16.9 million from the fund to regenerate iconic sites.
Councillors are urging the government to look at the application based on their needs, not the needs of Dorset as a whole.
Each Local Authority bids for funding and is categorised on a scale of 1 - 3 (most in need to least in need). Dorset Council was graded 3, least in need.
But the new application asks the government to assess it as if Weymouth and Portland were their own council.
Councillor Tony Ferrari told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset:
"The government has considered councils as one area, and actually Dorset and I suspect other counties too, aren't consistant.
"There are relatively wealthy, relatively prosperous parts of the county and there are small pockets where that isn't always true.
"The social deprivation issues in Weymouth and Portland are much, much higher than across the rest of Dorset."
Cllr Ferrari added:
"What we've effectively done is averaged away the deprivation that exists in Weymouth and Portland.
"What we said to government was 'we know what you're trying to achieve, which is to address these areas of deprivation, but the question you've asked doesn't allow us to answer it right because you've asked for a county-wide solution. What we'd like to do is give you a very small bid for a very small area, what would have been old Weymouth and Portland district council'.
"They encouraged us to bid."
If successful the fund would be used for the peninsula development, additional works on the harbourside and could potentially be put towards work at Brewers Quay.
It would also include creating a new water access site for Dorset Innovation Park on Portland.
It's hoped these would create more jobs directly, but also encourage business growth in the area.