WEYMOUTH councillors have been told to “get off their backsides” and fight for the best deal for the town.

Seafront resident Ken Whatley, a former community forum leader, said he had been disappointed in the way changes to local government had been taking place, including not having a public session at the first meeting of the shadow Weymouth Town Council.

“All we are being offered is crumbs from the unitary council although I'm sure, a bit like Brexit, you have a plan... but you can't tell us,” he said during the public period at Monday's borough council management committee.

“You need to get off your backsides and fight for Weymouth, if you don't it will be lost forever.”

His comments came with confirmation that current proposals are that all the borough council owned car parks are expected to go to the new Dorset Council, along with its 60-plus hotels and b&bs.

Mr Whatley said if that happened there would be little incentive for the new town council to organise events and festivals in the town, because it would gain little by doing so.

“When there is a good event, who will benefit? The unitary council, for doing nothing,” he said.

He called on borough councillors to at least fight for on-street parking which, he claimed, had been gradually eroded and taken from local people by permits being issued to hotel guests.

Borough council leader Jeff Cant said that while he understood the frustration the new council had a desperate need for income to support key services – especially social care which the borough gained from he said, possibly more so than wealthy areas in the county.

Cllr Richard Nickinson said it was not only the loss of car park income which was the problem – but the lack of any decision making powers about car park charges and which days, if any, could have free parking to attract people into Weymouth.

“If we can't retain any of the car parks, is there any way we can have some control over how they are run after the unitary council takes over,?” he said.

Cllr Colin Huckle, who also sits on the Dorset Council shadow executive, said that local councillors would be able to influence decisions and said he believed the new Weymouth Town Council would be consulted by the new Dorset Council about policy changes over car parking.

He suggested that it may be possible to retain a couple of small car parks in the borough but warned councillors they would have to “push hard” for it.

Council leader and fellow shadow executive member Cllr Jeff Cant was less hopeful: “Whatever we might have to say I would have thought it highly unlikely, or impossible, that the unitary council will concede car parks to anybody.”

Apart from car parks, the Pavilion site, hotels and harbour the borough council owned play areas, allotments, loos, and the operation of the beach and Esplanade are all expected to transfer to the new Weymouth Town Council in April. It is also likely to get the existing borough council headquarters in Commercial Road and council depots and yards.

Final decisions are not expected to be made until January 2019.

'They're cherry-picking our assets'

Report by Ellie Maslin

Speaking after the meeting, Weymouth resident Ian Brooke said: "A unitary council is a good idea to save money - however I don't agree with the cherry-picking of Weymouth's assets.

"By taking only the profitable services they will be ripping off local residents and giving an awful lot of power to people who have very little interest in what goes on south of the Ridgeway."

Businessman Mickey Jones, manager of DJ property which owns the Granby Industrial estate said: "It's pretty clear that the borough council has a poor track record for managing our local assets.

"Weymouth's guest house portfolio needs professional asset management or should be sold to generate income.

"The harbour should be managed by whichever organisation has the skills to do so effectively, which realistically is likely to be the new unitary authority.

"There now needs to be negotiation to guarantee a percentage of the income is allocated to Weymouth.

"To secure the success of the new town council it may initially need to be overfunded, on the condition that any surplus is returned to the unitary council."

Former borough councillor Andy Hutchings said: "I do wish we'd kept the car parks, they're a big income generator for Weymouth.

"I believe we will retain a strong town council so let's hope it can proceed to do the best for the town."