Weymouth Pavilion - Redevelopment Scheme

Redevelopment Scheme

It was announced in 2006 that the Pavilion complex and surroundings would be entirely redeveloped as part of a £135 million redevelopment scheme from 2007 to 2011, in time for the 2012 Olympic Games. The idea had been put in the pipeline since 2004. The 4-hectare (10-acre) site was planned to include a new theatre, a World Heritage Site visitor centre, a new ferry terminal, a 140 bed 4-star hotel, an undercover car park, a shopping arcade, offices, luxury and low cost apartments, houses, public squares, promenades, and a marina. The plans originally went on show in the town centre, attracting more than 300 people within the first three hours of the exhibition opening. The exhibition had referenced a Bournemouth University study which predicted Weymouth could benefit by £11 million a year as a result of the development and would bring 400 jobs to the area.

The redevelopment scheme was aborted in 2009 after general economic situation made it unviable due to the "depressed nature of the economy and the housing market". The plan had stalled when developer Howard Holdings went into liquidation, causing the funders Europa Capital to pull out despite already spending £5 million on the plan. In a BBC article speaking of the abortion of the scheme, councillor Mike Goodman was quoted "It is frustrating for the people of Weymouth and Portland. The recession has come at the wrong time for us. We were hoping to present a new complex at this incredible site." Despite the cancelling of the scheme, the council decided to keep the pavilion open.

In early 2012, financial and property adviser Jeffrey Heintz, of London-based designers White Knight, had put forward a redevelopment plan, stating that his team could transform the beleaguered theatre into a "flourishing one" under a trust and save taxpayers thousands of pounds. A series of proposals were made to the council by Heintz for a £160million scheme for the site, with the possibility of work to be started in 2013. This scheme would include the building of flats, a hotel, restaurants and marina at the Pavilion site. Councillor Peter Chapman was quoted in a Dorset Echo article relating to the scheme, stating "The council has made no decision on the precise future of the Pavilion peninsula site, although the direction of travel is inevitably towards some form of redevelopment."