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Demolition for Weymouth Esplanade shelter

8:00am Tuesday 16th March 2010 in


SHELTERS on Weymouth seafront are being knocked down.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council staff have begun taking apart the larger shelter next to the bus stops on the Esplanade close to the King’s Statue.

The shelter was earmarked for demolition as part of the multi-million pound seafront regeneration scheme that fell by the wayside last year when £6.6 million of funding was cut.

The shelter has become a magnet for drunken vagrants and its removal is being welcomed by businesses.

A council spokesman said the shelter was being cleared from the seafront to improve the view from the area around the King’s Statue towards the beach and from the beach towards the Georgian buildings.

He said: “This is the old shelter that’s not of significance that’s being removed.

“It will improve the vista so that people can see across from the beach to the Esplanade and from the Esplanade to the beach.

“It is not one of historical value and this opens up the area.”

The shelter – built in 1937 – is being knocked down this week and will not be replaced.

Next week the council will repair the surface areas of the Esplanade left damaged by the shelter’s removal. The smaller Victorian shelters built in the 1880s have undergone renovation and are being retained.

Louise Harris, owner of Christopher Robin, said she was ‘very happy’ that the shelter is going.

She said: “It will stop all the drinkers gathering there and it will be nicer for the holiday makers waiting for the bus.

“They won’t have to run the gauntlet of them.

“I see it every day.”

Wendy Nicholls, manager at the Rock and Fudge Shop, felt the same.

She said: “This will stop all the alcoholics being there.

“I think that’s everybody’s view.

“In a way it’s a shame – it’s going to spoil it for holidaymakers but they can’t sit there anyway.

“And it will improve the view.”

Historian Maureen Attwooll agreed that it was time for the building to go.

She said: “It has become something of an eyesore of late so personally I shall not miss it very much.”

Comments(35)

CHEVAL says...
8:26am Tue 16 Mar 10

Well done WPBC, an eyesore and intimidating . Wonder where the alchies will go next! Walking past was one time when it would have been nice to have a scary dog, on a lead of course!

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likeitornot says...
8:46am Tue 16 Mar 10

If we go round knocking down every building that offers a resting place for the dropouts of society then half the town is in danger of demolition, taking away the shelter is not the answer we should be getting rid of them and all those that sit around the town with their dogs, they are a disgrace but I suppose we will have to wait until 2012 before we can expect that.

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B.H says...
9:21am Tue 16 Mar 10

They will all go and sit in the subway under King Street.

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Duckorange says...
9:25am Tue 16 Mar 10

I understand Easton Square on Portland offers a unique ambience, coupled with a well-stocked, good value supermarket.

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westendcat says...
9:49am Tue 16 Mar 10

Itz a sad indictment on society when society has to demolish a building to control the way society uses the building.
Still,I suppose it is Weymouth!
Has planning permission been given for the demolition?

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likeitornot says...
9:50am Tue 16 Mar 10

B.H wrote:
They will all go and sit in the subway under King Street.
At least we could wait until its full and then fill it in and make some use of it.

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I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY DON'T LIKE THE NEW ECHO WEBSITE says...
12:10pm Tue 16 Mar 10

Whoever used it is not important- it was a tatty eyesore. Why not replace it with benches that have advertising on- local businesses could then sponsor the bench?
.
Also, anyone else getting the green and red dot survey pop up? It asks how people "interact with the website" then goes on to ask how much you earn...how is this relevant to how I use the website?

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SnakeskinCowboy says...
12:19pm Tue 16 Mar 10

"Wendy Nicholls, manager at the Rock and Fudge Shop, where the drunken vagrants buy their booze, felt the same."

Fixed it for them....

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Monmouthsman says...
1:06pm Tue 16 Mar 10

So after just 73 years the council has decided that building this shelter was a mistake and it should be removed. It seems to be such a shame that we have to wait so long for the council’s planning mistakes to be corrected. I am wondering how old the gas tank alongside the harbour is and, oh yes, that is where the council offices are too but I guess we have a few years to wait for the demolition to start there.
On the other hand there are some features that a lot of people might regard as rather nice that also interfere with views. The clock tower and Pavilion come to mind. Wonder if the first we shall know of their demise is when the demolition gangs arrive?
Separately; what is the council master plan for dealing with the next hang-out for drunks and louts? Perhaps it is to keep demolishing until there is nowhere left? How about building an inviting open annex on the side of the council offices?

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maximan says...
2:56pm Tue 16 Mar 10

Duckorange wrote:
I understand Easton Square on Portland offers a unique ambience, coupled with a well-stocked, good value supermarket.
I understand that persons hiding behind pseudonyms can find it quite easy to insult Portland

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likeitornot says...
4:18pm Tue 16 Mar 10

maximan wrote:
Duckorange wrote:
I understand Easton Square on Portland offers a unique ambience, coupled with a well-stocked, good value supermarket.
I understand that persons hiding behind pseudonyms can find it quite easy to insult Portland
Yes Portland does take a lot of stick especially after the nuclear fiasco but it was a Weymouth woman that hit the headlines for driving along with her bonnet up, rock apes we maybe but stupid we are not i think Weymouth can take that title for now.

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sparkler7 says...
4:20pm Tue 16 Mar 10

towns ok as it is council should concentrate on more important things like finding homes for people weymouth is loved as it is it might be a good idea to knock the council buildings down for what good they are !

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dorwey says...
4:25pm Tue 16 Mar 10

maximan wrote:
Duckorange wrote:
I understand Easton Square on Portland offers a unique ambience, coupled with a well-stocked, good value supermarket.
I understand that persons hiding behind pseudonyms can find it quite easy to insult Portland
I understand that persons hiding behind pseudonyms can find it quite easy to insult people that insult Portland

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Pirate Wildcat says...
4:35pm Tue 16 Mar 10

So yet again the Hoilday makers are more important than the Locals, Where are people meant to go to shelter from the cold wet winter(or any time of the year, knowing our weather) while waiting for a bus? seems that a view is far more important than a persons health these days.

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Mamma Media says...
4:42pm Tue 16 Mar 10

I think its a shame that they will be going as they have been on Weymouth Seafront since the victorian era or maybe even Georgian, correct me if I'm wrong.

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maximan says...
5:10pm Tue 16 Mar 10

dorwey wrote:
maximan wrote:
Duckorange wrote: I understand Easton Square on Portland offers a unique ambience, coupled with a well-stocked, good value supermarket.
I understand that persons hiding behind pseudonyms can find it quite easy to insult Portland
I understand that persons hiding behind pseudonyms can find it quite easy to insult people that insult Portland
And so on...

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Techie says...
5:11pm Tue 16 Mar 10

I'll correct you then. The shelter that's being demolished was built in 1937.

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Mamma Media says...
5:37pm Tue 16 Mar 10

Techie wrote:
I'll correct you then. The shelter that's being demolished was built in 1937.
Yes, that particular shelter maybe...but shelters have been there since the Georgian period, FACT.

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Mabu says...
5:42pm Tue 16 Mar 10

Well remembered.
.
It is a shame in that they had bags of character, but overall they did look scruffy. Modern one should add some style.

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bootedsw says...
5:58pm Tue 16 Mar 10

Great the holidaymakers will be able to stand around as the wind whips along the sea front they will have nowhere to sit and shelter from the weather. Well Done Weymouth!
As to the locals many a time I have used the shelter as the bus shelters are useless for keeping out the wind, rain and sand whilst waiting for an early morning bus.
As to the vagrants in the old days when Grace stayed there the council used to hose it down frequently every other morning. I assume they don't bother anymore.
So I will expect a reduction in my council tax as there is less estate buildings to maintain.

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MASK & SNORKEL says...
7:11pm Tue 16 Mar 10

Could it not be moved and rebuit next to the council offices, so the powers that be could see what the good people of Weymouth have to put up with; Empty beer cans and make shift toilet, getting begged for spare change. A shame to see it go.

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corry john says...
7:55pm Tue 16 Mar 10

i travel to Weymouth by bus most weeks to shop both summer & winter. if there is no shelter to sit & shelter from the wind & rain while i wait for the bus in the winter i will have to think about going to Yeovil to shop. why is it Weymouth have no proper bus station like Bridport & most other towns

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Techie says...
9:36pm Tue 16 Mar 10

"Great the holidaymakers will be able to stand around as the wind whips along the sea front they will have nowhere to sit and shelter from the weather. Well Done Weymouth!"

Nowhere apart from all the other shelters.

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Pete_wey says...
10:35pm Tue 16 Mar 10

Didn't they spend a fortune doing this shelter up a year or two ago?

It always made me smile watching all the grockles sitting in it as the stale smell of urine left by Weymouth's greater un-washed wafted by.

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weymouthfox says...
12:12am Wed 17 Mar 10

I can't help saying this demolition seems to reflect the councils muddled thinking. It is scruffy and smelly because it was taken over by the vagrants and drunks. Demolition simply moves them somewhere else and takes away a useful shelter from the rain for visitors and locals. What ought to have happened is for the vagrants to have been dealt with and the shelter given a new coat of paint and some basic repairs. Councillors don't seem to have a lot of common sense do they?

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MASK & SNORKEL says...
7:17am Wed 17 Mar 10

weymouthfox wrote:
I can't help saying this demolition seems to reflect the councils muddled thinking. It is scruffy and smelly because it was taken over by the vagrants and drunks. Demolition simply moves them somewhere else and takes away a useful shelter from the rain for visitors and locals. What ought to have happened is for the vagrants to have been dealt with and the shelter given a new coat of paint and some basic repairs. Councillors don't seem to have a lot of common sense do they?
Well said!

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notreally says...
9:22am Wed 17 Mar 10

Mamma Media wrote:
Techie wrote: I'll correct you then. The shelter that's being demolished was built in 1937.
Yes, that particular shelter maybe...but shelters have been there since the Georgian period, FACT.
Next week the council will repair the surface areas of the Esplanade left damaged by the shelter’s removal. The smaller Victorian shelters built in the 1880s have undergone renovation and are being retained.

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HOOMEE says...
9:39am Wed 17 Mar 10

Just to add to the bus users comments, I too have a long wait for a bus and that shelter is crucial to staying out of the biting east wind whilst waiting.

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weymouthmikeyj2 says...
10:17am Wed 17 Mar 10

As usual, the majority suffer because of a minority. If the shelter had been properly maintained and not left to ruin, this would never have happened. What sort of message does that send out for future shelters/buidings?

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greenglasses says...
12:35pm Wed 17 Mar 10

the shelter wasnt built as a bus shelter, and anyway why should people waiting for buses there get better treatment than those waiting elsewhere!

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praha says...
12:39pm Wed 17 Mar 10

A sign to let the seaguls know to find a new bird poop site may help.

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bootedsw says...
5:54pm Wed 17 Mar 10

if all the other shelters are being retained why does the article start with the word "shelters".

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Kevin Gill says...
4:57am Sun 21 Mar 10

How disappointing! I visited Weymouth briefly last summer after leaving in 1970. I was convinced the council would have ruined the place by now but no . . . it still took me an hour to get from the top of Ridgeway to the Jubilee Clock, the shelters were still going to rack and ruin, pebbles were appearing in the once-pristine sands, "the Naples of England". All was well, the elected burgers were running true to form, I could relax in the knowledge that nothing changes. But now? What next, maybe the residents are gaining control - fill in the subway, demolish the Pavilion, banish the grockles - Weymouth for the locals.

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Mads says...
7:55pm Sun 21 Mar 10

Walked past it today and I have to say the seafront looks much better without it - really opens up the space and makes the pavement loads wider.

Good shout as far as I'm concerned.

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davesheps says...
4:50pm Fri 26 Mar 10

"Not of significance... not of historical value..."?

To whom, precisely?

Wasn't this shelter unique, the only one of its kind to be built, albeit some years after the Victorian shelters, whose design it actually complimented rather well?

Had the same irrational valuation been made when the Victorian shelters were a mere 73 years old, perhaps they wouldn't have survived to accrue the "historical significance" which, mercifully, has seen them spared in this latest debacle.

Perhaps the Council should look at why this shelter - in the very heart of Weymouth - was allowed to deteriorate into such "an eyesore", the kind of state which will inevitably attract and breed mis-use.

It's one thing to neglect a significant landmark to the extent that it comes to offend the town's people, but the Council should not be so glibly downplaying the iconic role this shelter has played on Weymouth's seafront for 73 years.

As a regular visitor to Weymouth - presumably the kind the Council are looking to attract - I will miss it, and already do.

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