Committee gives green light to demolish Weymouth bowling alley

Councillors on Dorset Council’s area planning committee today, Thursday 18 April, have voted unanimously to approve an application to demolish the former bowling alley in St Nicholas Street Weymouth.

The green light for demolition marks the next step in the council’s regeneration plans for Weymouth’s waterside economy. £19.5m Levelling Up Funding (LUF) was awarded to the council in January 2023 by government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

Weymouth Bowl is one of several key areas in the town selected for development, including the site at North Quay where the former Weymouth and Portland Borough Council offices stood, the peninsula, the piece of land currently used as car parking beyond the Pavilion and land to the west of the marina.

The unanimous approval today enables Dorset Council to prepare plans for the site's long-term future use.

While plans for the site are drawn up, as a short term measure the site will be levelled and used as temporary additional car parking. This is not the long-term intention for the site.

Demolition is expected to begin later this year. The cost of demolition and creation of a temporary car park on the site is anticipated to be in the region of £400k, and will be paid for through levelling up funding.