Weymouth retirement complex to be demolished due to storm damage

The go-ahead has been given to demolish and replace Weymouth’s Holly Court retirement complex.

Most residents have already moved out of the 50-year-old building which suffered damage to the roof in a storm last year.

Several had campaigned to keep the existing building but Anchor Housing claimed the option is not viable, compounded by the presence of asbestos, and will now replace the current building with 37 larger flats.

Dorset Council has agreed planning consent for the proposals which Anchor originally said could be completed by the summer of 2025.

Part of the demolition works will involve a full Health and Safety Executive compliant strip-out of asbestos, a substance which can cause cancer.

Anchor say the current building, finished in 1973, on the corner of Dorchester Road and Waverley Road, is no longer fit for purpose and with the majority of its flats having less than 35square metres of space no longer meets national accessibility standards, also having poor energy efficiency ratings.

A structural survey of the building in 2022 found widespread structural cracking not linked to the roof damage caused by Storm Eunice in February of that year.

The proposed new building will broadly follow the footprint of the existing, retaining all trees on the site, with the top floor to be constructed in contrasting materials.

In response to a consultation on the designs the architects have reduced the number of windows on the south east side with the fourth floor set back further to reduce the impact on the street scene.

A specific consultations for residents, held in April, at which former tenants who had been rehouses were also invited, was said to have resulted in an overall positive response to the proposals. As a result of that meeting a greenhouse and planting area was incorporated into the proposals and railings and a gate added to the front boundary to increase security.

A communal lounge and manager’s office will be located off the entrance foyer with wheelchair ramps from the car parking area and level access to garden and other outdoor areas.

Weymouth Town Council raised no objections to the proposals while the town’s Civic Society raised concerns about the communal facilities and vehicle parking – pointing out that the proposed lounge is considerably smaller than the existing.

“This seems to us to be seriously inadequate to accommodate sufficient easy chairs for residents, especially for any communal events, which could have an effect on their lifestyle. While the location is well served by buses, we consider that the parking provision is limited, reduced from the current 11 spaces for 35 units to 8 spaces for 37 units, which presumably includes any staff or visitor parking,” said the Civic Society in its comments.