Adapted from a Telegraph article:
Its always been a sore point for the residents of Weymouth that, although their coastline is infinitely more beautiful than Bournemouth, and their town is prettier than Poole’s, of the three major Dorset seaside towns, Weymouth has been the ugly duckling.
Bournemouth has boomed in recent years, shaking off its elderly image, attracting young professionals with its university lifestyle and glamourous nightlife. Poole, with upmarket suburbs like Sandbanks, has become a jet-setter’s paradise, with outrageously flamboyant millionaires’ houses and posh eateries springing up along its pine-clad coastline.
Weymouth, despite her beautiful Georgian architecture and stunning shoreline – was only really appreciated by the locals, a few sailors and the bucket-and-spaders who poured into town every August. Her strange and virtually treeless twin, the promontory of Portland, was even less appreciated, known only for her three prisons, the decomissioned naval base and stone quarries.
But now this under-valued pair are to have their time in the spotlight with the 2012 Olympic sailing events based off the Weymouth coast. In the weeks following the announcement that London is to host the 2012 Olympics, changes have already been taking place. The borough council has won funding to apply for lottery money to revamp the once elegant Georgian Esplanade, famous for its ice-cream parlours, chip shops and amusement arcades – and it’s a fairly safe bet that the money will be granted.
The relief road from Dorchester that has been over 10 years in the planning, and always pushed to the back of the agenda, is set to be fast-tracked and developers are moving in on the derelict naval base accommodation blocks on Portland to turn them into luxury flats, with some fabulous sea views of the coast and overlooking the sailing academy.
Local estate agents can barely contain their excitement. Tales abound of vendors upping their prices by £10,000 overnight, speculators buying up modest cottages on Portland and shrewd investors putting deposits on new harbourside apartments without even seeing them all circulating the airwaves.
The general view of locals is one of cautious optimism, and a hope that the nightmare of traffic congestion they have experienced for years will be over when the relief road gets built.
Many locals, mind you, say that Weymouth’s journey of upward mobility began years before the Olympic announcement – and worry that young families will be priced out of a booming property market. “The change really started with the closure of the naval base in 1997, and the closure two years later of the Royal Naval Air Station,” says Stuart Morris, Portland resident and local historian. “Portland had for years been seen as a dumping ground for social problems and the housing was not considered up to much.”
A sure sign of where Portland is headed is that the abandoned naval accommodation blocks, once earmarked as an immigrant reception centre, are now to be converted into a 550-unit residential scheme – of which most of the apartments will command spectacular views of the sailing events.
Weymouth too, in recent years, has been much improved, particularly with the new 250-berth marina. The Pavilion Theatre area of the sea-front, for years rather shabby and hosting shows starring the likes of Jim Davidson and Bobby Davro for the delectation of the bucket-and-spade brigade – is getting a facelift, with upmarket shops, restaurants and flats in the pipeline. “Café society is coming to Weymouth,” says an excited Mark Baker.
One sure sign that things are on the up is that the quality of the local restaurants has been improving. Michael Clough, chef and patron of the Roundhouse Restaurant, once had little competition for his clients who come to eat his hand-dived scallops, Weymouth Bay crab and mushroom parcels and his famous, hand-made chocolate ice-cream baskets.
Amid all this excitement, however, the council has not forgotten its native residents, who, as in other upwardly mobile areas of the South-West are in danger of being priced out of their home town as the speculators, buy-to-letters and second-home owners move in.
Developers will have to provide a minimum of 30 per cent affordable housing in their schemes, says Jacqui Gisborne, marketing and press officer for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.
“Although we live in this stunning area, we don’t have the stunning salaries to match,” she says. “People living here often like to strike the right balance between work and family life and can’t afford huge mortgages. Our planning department is really very fixed on ensuring that locals with modest incomes aren’t forced to leave their community.
