EXCLUSIVE: Quiet legal change could reshape Weymouth Harbour — and end any realistic return of big ferries

Weymouth, Dorset — Dorset Council has asked the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to rewrite the rules of Weymouth Harbour so the historic “open port duty” no longer applies to large vessels — and not at all on the peninsula itself — a move that clears the way for high-stakes redevelopment on the town’s most valuable waterfront.

Under the draft Weymouth Harbour Revision Order 2025, the open-port obligation (the 1847 rule that a harbour be open to shipping on payment of rates) would be restricted to boats under 24 metres, and entirely disapplied on the peninsula area shown on the official plan. In plain English: big ships would no longer have an automatic right to call, and the council could control what — and who — uses the peninsula quays.

The “Weymouth HRO – draft plan” PDF includes the peninsula plan showing the area shaded red.

Why it matters

A supporting statement filed with the MMO spells out the logic: Weymouth’s last regular ferry ceased in 2015; modern ferries are too large for the harbour without prohibitively expensive upgrades; and keeping infrastructure for big ships “limits alternative commercial development” on the peninsula. The same document flags that restricting the duty would also enable removal of the redundant ferry linkspan ramp and open the door to new uses such as slipways and marine services.

Although the application is couched as a technical tidy-up, the effect is strategic. It would end the long-standing default right of large commercial vessels at Weymouth and hand the council discretion over future access — a crucial lever as it seeks to transform the peninsula. The public consultation on the Order ran from 20 June to 1 August 2025.

The build-out is already moving

Separately, Dorset Council has awarded a £5.21m contract to replace the failing F & G harbour walls along the peninsula — nearly 500 metres of new sheet piles, tie-rods and a new reinforced capping beam to bolster flood defences. Contractor Knights Brown signed in March 2025.

Work was pushed into the autumn to avoid disturbing a protected seahorse breeding season in the peninsula’s seagrass; the programme is expected to run 10–12 months, with completion anticipated mid-2026, the council says.

The money and the model

The harbour filing references £19.47m in Levelling Up funding plus £3.5m match for the wider regeneration — and argues that freeing the peninsula from the open-port constraint is necessary to deliver that plan and make the harbour financially sustainable. It also confirms the harbour will continue to serve fishing, charter and leisure fleets (the duty would still apply to sub-24m vessels).

What comes next

If the MMO approves the Order, Dorset Council would have far greater latitude to curate the peninsula’s future uses and tenants — from haul-out and marine services to public realm and commercial schemes — without being bound to accommodate large ships by default. That, paired with the wall works now contracted and timetabled, would amount to the most significant shift in Weymouth’s waterfront policy in a decade.

Dorset Council’s case

Council officials stress the change is not about excluding traditional users, but about ensuring the harbour’s financial sustainability and safety:

No realistic future for large ferries: modern ferries are too large for Weymouth without prohibitively expensive upgrades.

Economic sustainability: reducing reliance on council subsidy by diversifying uses and income streams.

Safety and infrastructure: removing the redundant ferry ramp and investing in new sea walls will improve flood protection and open up safer, modernised facilities.

Community benefit: plans include improved public realm, leisure space, and facilities for fishing and small boats.

Sources: GOV.UK – Weymouth Harbour Revision Order 2025 (MMO consultation & documents