Up to £75,000 of new deckchairs, sunbeds and windbreaks for Weymouth Beach, and a hunt for a watercraft operator for summer 2027. Palestine flag motion fell.
Weymouth Beach is getting 333 new deckchairs, 136 sunbeds and 200 windbreaks for next summer, after the town council agreed to spend up to £75,000 on new hire stock.
Councillors on Weymouth Town Council’s Environment and Services Committee approved the one-off spend on Wednesday 28 October. The same meeting agreed to look for an operator to bring watercraft back to the beach by next summer, set a 50p charge for the refurbished Maiden Street toilets, and voted not to fly the Palestinian flag outside the New Town Hall on 15 November.
Why the beach needs new chairs
The council runs deckchair, sunbed, windbreak and parasol hire from the Beach Office. Its committee report says stock is “now among the lowest recorded in recent seasons, and much of the remaining equipment is dated”, because the £5,000 a year equipment budget has only paid for a few replacements each year.
That is despite a record summer. Net sales in 2026 reached £104,864.80, up £24,643 or 30.7% on 2025, the Beach Office’s best season since the town council took over the service. On a typical summer the council sells out of every sunbed and deckchair on about eight to ten days, and the report says customers are turned away when that happens.
The £75,000 is split three ways in the report:
| Item | Budget | Buys |
|---|---|---|
| Deckchairs | £20,000 | 333 |
| Sunbeds | £30,000 | 136 |
| Windbreaks and parasols | £25,000 | 200 windbreaks and 50 parasols |
About 30% of the oldest stock would go, given to Tumbledown Farm for recycling projects. The money would be spent in April 2027. Officers estimate the extra stock could earn £15,000 to £19,000 more in a typical season, paying for itself in four to five years, though the report says those are “estimates, not guaranteed income”.
Councillors also agreed that hire stays card-only, as it was in 2026. The report says no complaints were received about the switch from cash, and the card machines recorded no sales lost to customers without a card. The equipment budget rises from £5,000 to £7,500 a year from the next budget year.
The report proposed adding 10p to each hire price for 2027 (deckchairs £3.80, windbreaks £5.80, parasols £7.80, sunbeds £8.80, all per day), to cover rising staff costs. The council’s round-up of the decisions does not mention prices, so check at the Beach Office next season.
Pedalos and kayaks: a tender this winter
There was no pedalo or kayak hire on Weymouth Beach this year. The report says the Jones family ran watercraft there from the early 1960s, but the last operator’s lease ended by mutual agreement and they did not return for 2026.
The committee agreed an open tender this winter “to find an experienced operator to run a new watercrafts activity for residents and visitors”, the council said, with the aim of having it running by next summer.
The council will not specify which craft. Bidders propose their own offer, which the council can refuse or attach conditions to on safety, environmental, planning or legal grounds. The proposed deal is a 10-year lease with a break at five years, on broadly the same patch of beach as before, which already has planning permission. The timetable in the report:
- tender issued late 2026 or early 2027
- preferred operator chosen early 2027
- final report to full council before the 2027 season
- watercraft operating summer 2027
Maiden Street toilets: 50p by card
The Maiden Street toilet block closes for refurbishment on Monday 2 November, as we reported yesterday. The committee has now decided that when it reopens it will cost 50p by card, the council said. The report said the accessible toilet would stay free and estimated the charge would bring in about £4,500 to £6,000 a year.
Dogs on the beach: the town council objects
Dorset Council’s Cabinet decides on Tuesday 10 November whether to let dogs on leads onto Weymouth Beach from 6pm to 6am in summer. Our report on the proposal has the detail. The town council committee agreed to send a representation to that meeting objecting to the change and asking for the current rules to stay, along with a written response based on its officers’ report.
Palestine flag motion rejected
A notice of motion from Councillor Mike Sewry asked the committee to mark Palestine Independence Day by raising the flag of Palestine outside the New Town Hall on 15 November 2026. It was not approved, the council said.
An Anzac dawn service?
Councillor Simon Clifford’s motion asked the council to follow services in Australia, New Zealand and central London and hold a remembrance event at sunrise on 25 April, ahead of the current parade.
Officers gave three options: move the 11am service to finish at sunrise, run twin events at 5.45am and 11am with council staff helping, or help market the existing volunteer-run event. Officers favoured the third, citing the cost and staffing issues of the other two.
The committee chose instead to look in more detail at the second: council staff supporting a dawn event at 5.45am alongside the formal one at 11am. Nothing has been decided yet.
What it means for you
- Next summer: more deckchairs, sunbeds and windbreaks to hire on busy days, paid by card only.
- Watercraft: pedalos or other craft could be back for summer 2027 if the tender finds an operator.
- Maiden Street toilets: shut from 2 November for about five months, then 50p by card. Cove Street and King’s Statue toilets stay open; the council keeps a full list.
- Dogs on the beach: Dorset Council’s Cabinet decides on 10 November.
Sources
- Weymouth Town Council: round-up of decisions from the Environment and Services Committee, 29 October 2026 (news release)
- Weymouth Town Council: Environment and Services Committee agenda and reports, 28 October 2026
- Weymouth Town Council: committee meetings
- Weymouth Town Council: meeting livestream on YouTube
- Weymouth Town Council: Refurbishment of Maiden Street Toilets
Have your say