Weymouth Train Station £1m revamp approved
Some councillors say they felt pressured to approve the scheme which otherwise would be at risk of losing funding
THE £1million revamp for the area around Weymouth train station has been approved despite being described as “half-baked” and falling far short of what the town needs.
With only one bus stop, dedicated to the Wessex bus company, councillors say the re-worked forecourt and car park fails to meet the need for an integrated transport exchange.
Thursday’s area planning committee expressed concern about the level of cycle and motorcycle parking and the removal of two car parking spaces to make way for a new access onto King Street.
Virtually the only element which was widely liked was the ‘pocket park’ which links King Street along an improved pathway to the Jubilee trading area. The new area will incorporate the section of old rail line and be planted with trees and wildflowers.
Owermoigne councillor Nick Ireland said he was concerned councillors were being pressed to approve a scheme they though fell far short of its intentions because of a fear of losing funding.
Said Wyke councillor Kate Wheller: “This is only half the scheme we want” warning that she believed the changes would worsen traffic flows on King Street because of the new access due to be created at the edge of the site close to the petrol station.
She said that given that Dorset Council was committed to tackling climate change the station revamp would do little to actively encourage people to use public transport.
“It’s a half-baked scheme, but better than no scheme… I do feel South West rail has let us down on this. They want us to use their services, but they don’t encourage us to do so.”
Weymouth councillor Cllr Louie O’Leary said he was also disappointed about the lack of bus space and a loss of car parking: “It’s no means perfect, but it’s better than what we’ve got,” he said.
Ward councillor Jon Orrell said he was also disappointed but said he was still hoping that a proper transport interchange could be developed later. He suggested that the new junctions ought to be upgraded now to be capable of taking buses, rather than have to come back and strengthen the area in the future.
The revised layout will see a single road through the site past the front of the station with some of he existing car park walls lowered or removed and the roundabout at the station entrance brought down to ground level with extra landscaping to improve the area for pedestrians. Existing drop-off bays would be moved into the car park.
Some trees will be removed as part of the works to allow a better view for CCTV cameras, with others added.
Chickerell councillor Jean Dunseith said she welcomed the improvements: “At the moment it looks as if no one really cares about the area and that reflects on Weymouth…it sets the tone as the first place many visitors will see,” she said.
Weymouth Civic Society has said that it has ‘serious reservations’ about the planned changes to the forecourt and car park and said it doubted if any significant improvement could be achieved with the current traffic layout of King Street.
“The key aim of the creation of an effective transport interchange to encourage more use of public transport is virtually ignored,” said the Society.
The proposals for the scheme came from Dorset Coast Forum, which has secured grant funding for the project.
It says that the new pedestrian area within the station forecourt will be safer and help people with limited mobility or those with pushchairs and wheelchairs.
The total cost to deliver the improvements, put together by the Dorset Coast Forum, has been put at £997,096 and includes a £450,000 grant from the South Western Railway Customer and Communities Improvement Fund. The remainder of the funding has been provided by Dorset Council, Public Health Dorset, Weymouth BID and Weymouth Town Council.