Weymouth harbour 'a financial liability with an uncertain future'

The council has backed proposals to build a leisure park on Weymouth's peninsula

Weymouth harbour is a "financial liability" with an uncertain future, the vice-chairman of the board that runs it has said.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council has discussed the harbour's future at a full council meeting.

It reviewed a report detailing the challenges the harbour has faced over the past year.

These include the loss of Condor and a proposal to redevelop the peninsula without retaining a ferry service.

"We are going to have some more meetings and workshops to see what can be done, but it is a financial liability," Labour councillor and vice-chairman of Weymouth Harbour Board Colin Huckle said.

He said cuts faced by local government had not helped.

Condor relocated its cross-channel services from Weymouth to Poole in 2015

A new passenger ferry service from Weymouth to Cherbourg in France had been planned by new company High Speed Ferries, and was due to launch next year.

However, Mr Huckle said the board had discussed whether the service would begin as funding had not yet been found.

The authority has since backed proposals to build a leisure park - including indoor sky diving and a hotel - on Weymouth's peninsula.

A £200,000 council investment has been agreed but, if it is built, the development would likely "kill off" any hopes of a new ferry service, Mr Huckle said.

He described a major shortfall in the harbour accounts after Condor Ferries relocated its cross-channel services to Poole in 2015.

In addition, repairs to harbour wall repairs were needed, with one likely to cost about £2m to fix.

Its future is "uncertain in the fact that we can't go on as we are, but it's certain that we need a harbour", he added, describing it as "a major attraction".

High Speed Ferries was unavailable for comment, and the council has not yet responded to a BBC request for comment.