The future of the £135m Weymouth scheme intended to host the sailing events at the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics has been thrown into doubt after its backer decided not to exercise a “step-in” option.
In July, Europa Capital was given a two-month extension to decide whether it wanted to continue with the development of Weymouth Pavilion in Dorset.
Progress on the Pavilion scheme stalled in March when Howard Holdings Weymouth, a vehicle set up by Irish developer Howard Holdings, was wound up over £23,000 of unpaid bills.
Europa had selected Morgan Sindall as its development partner to take forward the scheme but today said that it was “not in a position to establish sufficient economic grounds to support stepping into the exisiting development agreement”.
Tom Vail, senior associate at Europa, said: “We worked hard, alongside our partners Morgan Sindall Investments and Weymouth & Portland, to try and make this work. However, with the required commitments for civic goods, such as the refurbished theatre, new ferry terminal, car park and public spaces, enshrined within the building agreement together with the depressed nature of the economy and the housing market in particular, the project is not currently viable.”
Weymouth council brief holder for partnerships and special Projects, cllr Howard Legg added: “While it is regrettable that the scheme will not go ahead at this time, the proposals being put forward by the developer would have delivered only a small portion of the civic goods we expected for the site, which I believe would not have been in the best interest of the borough and its residents.
“We now need to look to the future and are planning to consider the site from two viewpoints; firstly how the site will be used during 2012 to maximise its use and contribution towards the Olympic and Paralympic Games and secondly to consider how the site might be developed for the longer term.”
The future of the £135m Weymouth scheme intended to host the sailing events at the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics has been thrown into doubt after its backer decided not to exercise a “step-in” option. In July, Europa Capital was given a two-month extension to decide whether it wanted to continue with the development of Weymouth Pavilion in Dorset. Progress on the Pavilion scheme stalled in March when Howard Holdings Weymouth, a vehicle set up by Irish developer Howard Holdings, was wound up over £23,000 of unpaid bills. Europa had selected Morgan Sindall as its development partner to take forward the scheme but today said that it was “not in a position to establish sufficient economic grounds to support stepping into the exisiting development agreement”. Tom Vail, senior associate at Europa, said: “We worked hard, alongside our partners Morgan Sindall Investments and Weymouth & Portland, to try and make this work. However, with the required commitments for civic goods, such as the refurbished theatre, new ferry terminal, car park and public spaces, enshrined within the building agreement together with the depressed nature of the economy and the housing market in particular, the project is not currently viable.” Weymouth council brief holder for partnerships and special Projects, cllr Howard Legg added: “While it is regrettable that the scheme will not go ahead at this time, the proposals being put forward by the developer would have delivered only a small portion of the civic goods we expected for the site, which I believe would not have been in the best interest of the borough and its residents. “We now need to look to the future and are planning to consider the site from two viewpoints; firstly how the site will be used during 2012 to maximise its use and contribution towards the Olympic and Paralympic Games and secondly to consider how the site might be developed for the longer term.” samantha.mcclary@rbi.co.uk
