Project Updates
- Over 1400 people contributed to the online survey, 460 people attended our events
- The survey results show a higher preference for the new option, with a 2.3% difference (equivalent to 34 votes) compared to the essential option. Comments reflected both support and opposition for each option.
- Recurring themes included access and accessibility, budget and costs and design features
- The community offered lots of alternative ideas and suggestions for the various elements of each option
- There were 20 responses from paper surveys which were not included in the anomalies section but were included in the main report. These have now been updated and included.
- All pie charts showing segments are now coloured in the same way to allow for easy comparison.
- Question 28 was incorrectly numbered as 17.
- Banners on Shore Road and Victoria Road – displayed for the duration of the engagement
- Posters around the Green Seafront Site and around the town
- Local radio – Interview with Maggi on Purbeck Radio
- News articles – Swanage News, Dorset Echo, Bournemouth Echo, BBC
- Posters, information, reference materials and paper surveys at the Visitor Information Centre
- Social Media - Dorset Coast Forum, Swanage Town Council, Dorset Council
- Option 1 – Full vehicular closure to public vehicles
- Option 2 – One way closure – south bound traffic only
- Option 3 – Two way traffic with parking removed
- Option 4 – Do nothing (retain as it is)
- reducing the speed limit of Shore Road to 20mph
- relocating key crossings
- introducing high‑quality materials
- reducing street clutter
- adding new pick‑up and drop‑off points
- improving accessibility through dedicated disabled parking
- Consultation report published – January 2026
- Preferred option announced – February 2026
- Preliminary design and updated costs – late summer 2026
- Formal consultation and legal orders – autumn/winter 2026
- Detailed design – summer 2027
- Construction (aligned with Green Seafront project) – September 2027 to April 2028
Update on the Charity Status of Sandpit and Weather Station Fields - 23/03/2026
Two areas of the Green Seafront, Sandpit Field and Weather Station Field, are held by Swanage Town Council under Charitable Trusts.
Sandpit Field was gifted to the town by the executors of Arthur Rainsford Mowlem in 1990 and registered as a charity in the mid‑1990s, along with associated De Moulham Estate covenants.
Weather Station Field was gifted in 1924 by John Ernest Mowlem, along with three smaller parcels, and registered as the Gift of Public Pleasure Grounds Charity.
Although the Town Council legally owns both sites, it does so as a corporate trustee and cannot use significant local authority funds on charitable land. (This restriction does not apply to the Spa beach huts.) Neither charity has the funds needed for ground stabilisation, so the Council is considering taking full ownership and removing charitable status. It has sought and is following advice from the Charity Commission.
To safeguard their future, the Council has agreed to legally protect both Sandpit Field and Weather Station Field as public open space, complementing protections in the Swanage Local Plan. This ensures that removing charitable status will not affect the long‑term use of these valued green spaces.
Residents are now invited by Swanage Town Council to attend an event related to the proposed land transfer, details below:
Public Drop‑In Event
Date: Tuesday 31 March 2026
Time: 4:30pm–7:00pm (drop‑in)
Location: Showbar, The Mowlem
Further background: https://www.swanage.gov.uk/Charities
Residents are invited to attend, learn more about the proposed land transfer, and share their views.
Update 20/02/2026
Update 20/02/2026
An update from Dorset Council regarding the options for Shore Road can be found >> here
Update 21/01/2026
Update 21/01/2026
Shore Road Engagement Report
The Engagement Summary for Shore Road can be found >> here
The report represents the next step in a process that began with feedback from local residents in 2022/23, who highlighted the need to improve pedestrian safety and enhance the public realm during the development of the Swanage Masterplan.
Dorset Council, as the highway authority, is now reviewing elements of the engagement results that relate to Shore Road from the engagement held last year, alongside technical data. Their preferred option for Shore Road will be discussed publicly at the Town Council meeting on 23 February.
Any option taken forward by Dorset Council will require further technical work, funding decisions, and detailed design.
Update 12/11/2025
Update 12/11/2025:
Round 2 Green Seafront Engagement Results
Huge thanks to all that took part in the engagement.
The Round 2 Engagement Summary for the Green Seafront can be found >> here
19/12/2025 - This report was amended in December 2025. Minor amendments were made to the appendices. The main report remains unchanged.
This amended version of the report includes the following updates. All of which are in the anomalies section in the appendices.
A statement from Swanage Town Council alongside the publishing of the report can be found >> here
Swanage Town Council now have a dedicated website for the progress of the Green Seafront Project including monitoring updates >> here
Update 30/06/2025
Update 30/06/2025:
The survey for this round of engagement is now closed. Thank you to all those who have taken part over the last two months. We will now work through the data and provide updates in due course.
Engagement Events and Activities - May and June 2025
Over May and June 2025 many engagement events took place in Swanage. These included:
Swanage Market - 30/05/2025 
Outside the Co-op - 30/05/2025
Focus Centre Drop In - June 2025
Mowlem Drop In - June 2025
Highways Scheme 2025
Highways Scheme - Shore Road Options
Improvements to traffic management, along with matters regarding pedestrian safety on Shore Road were raised by the public in previous engagements for both the Green Seafront and the Swanage Seafront Masterplan. In response to this Dorset Council Highways Team has worked in partnership with Swanage Town Council and provided four options for the future of Shore Road:.
Click on the tiles below to see the images of the proposed options. Please note, for the purpose of this engagement, options for Shore Road are displayed alongside the new option for the Green Seafront. There will be further consultations after this engagement and the schemes will be aligned based on the chosen options.
 Option 1: Full vehicular closure to public vehicles |  Option 2: One-way closure - south bound traffic only |
 Option 3: Two-way traffic with parking removed |  Option 4: Do nothing (retain as it is) |
Green Seafront - Options for 2025 Engagement
Options for 2025 Engagement:
The New Option
Key Features of the New Option can be found >> here
The Essential Option
We want you to have your say on the new option and consider it with the essential option from the previous round. The Essential Option includes all stabilisation required to maintain the site in its current form.
Key Features of the Essential Option can be found >> here
How much will the options cost?
The new option would cost an estimated £6.5 million. The essential scheme would be an estimated £4.5 million. The Council still cannot fund all the costs of the essential or the new scheme and is continuing to look at options and further financial information. More information on funding and finance >> here
What did Round 1 Engagement tell us?
What did the Round 1 engagement tell us?
In Round 1, we asked your input on two proposals for the green seafront area: the Essential Scheme and the Enhanced Scheme. The feedback was almost evenly split, with the Enhanced Scheme slightly more favoured, receiving 51.1% support compared to 43.6% for the Essential Scheme. 5.3% said they didn't know.
The Enhanced Scheme, estimated at approximately £11 million is not being taken forward by the Council as an option due to affordability. The new option incorporates the elements from the Enhanced Scheme that you told us were important in the first round of engagement.
Update - March 2026 - Shore Road - Next Steps
A series of design refinements will now be explored including:
Dorset Council will also assess related improvements on the wider highway network, such as junction visibility, pedestrian crossing points and updated wayfinding.
Timeline
All dates provided are indicative and subject to change. To reduce impact on the highway, works will be aligned with the Green Seafront Ground Stabilisation project construction period. This means the start date of construction works will depend on the final confirmed timelines for the Green Seafront project.