Weston facelift plans get thumbs up

Plans to redevelop an area of Weston-super-Mare's seafront have proved popular with the public.

North Somerset Council held a two-week consultation at locations in the resort and the majority of feedback given was in favour of the scheme.

The £3.9-million project would see significant changes such as upgrading public spaces and changes to the road layout bounded by the Grand Pier/Beach Hotel and Beach Road/Carlton Street.

Residents also favoured the suggested new name for the area - Pier Square.

Work is set to begin this autumn, dovetailing into the ongoing promenade and seafront defence works.

In addition, the scheme also aims to make better use of the Beach Lawns by improving the landscaping and creating better access, while keeping its heritage, such as the 1913 fountain.

It is hoped the majority of the work will be completed by summer 2010 to coincide with the reopening of the Grand Pier. Elfan Ap Rees, council deputy leader, who is masterminding the plans, said: "I am delighted with the response and the feedback we have received, and want to congratulate the small officer team, which has interpreted ideas and improvement needs in such a positive way.

"We had a number of name suggestions, including some historic suggestions such as Marconi Plaza and Telegraph Square but 80 per cent of website respondents and the overwhelming majority of exhibition visitors favoured Pier Square, so that is likely to be the decision.

"The new scheme will provide better access through the area for pedestrians and traffic, while introducing new leisure features such as the open-air plaza and a replacement building for the tired tourist information centre, and retaining the fountain in a new setting.

"We also need to make sure that the motorcycle park is properly planned in and that the Weston Wheel can become an integral feature at the southern end of the redevelopment.

"It's quite a challenge but officers are now refining some of the detail, in particular I want to keep green space where practical and take up some of the points raised by the public.

"These include ensuring the disabled are not disadvantaged by the shared space and that future maintenance of the area is kept simple and cost-effective.

"All in all this is the biggest seafront project in the country since Victorian times and we now have an aggressive work programme over the next year, which is inevitably going to cause some local upheaval.

"However we shall try to minimise the problems and I hope local residents will bear with us and look forward to the end result, which I am confident will put Weston and North Somerset on the map and revive our tourism fortunes."