Green Seafront Updates

Green Seafront Planning Applications Submitted

Swanage Town Council has submitted two planning applications to Dorset Council for the Green Seafront Stabilisation and Enhancement Scheme.

Following approval of the Strategic Outline Business Case in April 2026, the Town Council selected the New Option as its preferred scheme due to the wider economic, environmental and community benefits it would provide, including improved access for all.

The estimated costs are:

• New Option (preferred option): £6.9 million
• Essential Option: £4.75 million

Why are there two applications?

Both the Essential and New Option have been submitted for planning approval. While the Council intends to progress the New Option, approval of the Essential Option provides flexibility in case of future price volatility at the project tender stage, ensuring the necessary stabilisation works can still be delivered.

Have your say

Dorset Council, as the Local Planning Authority, will determine the applications through an independent planning process. Members of the public can view and comment on the applications via the Dorset Council planning website.

• New Option – P/FUL/2026/03658
  https://planning.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/plandisp.aspx?recno=429846
• Essential Option – P/FUL/2026/03657
  https://planning.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/plandisp.aspx?recno=429845

This is the only place to comment formally on the designs. Any comments made elsewhere will not be considered in the planning process, so it is extremely important to place comments and feedback here. Please note, you should also ensure the comments are on the relevant application.

The consultation period closes on 14 August 2026.

Further information

The planning applications relate only to the Green Seafront site and do not include proposed changes to Shore Road, which will be subject to a separate consultation later this year.

Accessible toilets and any future kiosk/concession facilities are not included within the planning applications. Toilet facilities will be delivered under permitted development rights, while any concession operator will be responsible for securing the necessary consents for their own facilities.

In addition,  a separate application will be made to the Secretary of State to stop up  the easternmost section of Walrond Road required to deliver the New Option. This will be subject to its own formal consultation, with dates to be announced.

Find out about the process at our pop ups:

Friday 24th July

Swanage Market

8.00am – 11.00am

Wednesday 29th July

Outside the Swanage Information Centre

10.00am – 1.00pm

Dorset Council have approved a £5 million investment in the Swanage Green Seafront Stabilisation Scheme. 

Information on the Strategic Outline Business Case for the project can be found >> HERE

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.

Further background >> HERE

Huge thanks to all that took part in the engagement.

• 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

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.

• 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.

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

Over May and June 2025 many engagement events took place in Swanage. These included:

• Drop in events
• Pop ups at the market and outside the Co-op
• Attending local community events and meetings
• 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

Swanage Market

Mowlem Theatre Drop In

Coop Supermarket Pop Up

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

In 2025, we asked for views on a new option and the previously proposed essential option. The enhanced option was dropped due to cost. Following concerns about pedestrian safety on northern Shore Road, the Town Council and Dorset Council Highways Team have developed four options and would welcome your feedback.

Here is an update from Tina Foster about the second round of engagement for the Swanage Green Seafront Stabilisation and Enhancement project!

Swanage Green Seafront Stabilisation website video

All the key information and background on the Green Seafront project can be found >> HERE

There is also a set of FAQ's related to this project which can be found >> HERE