AN ambitious £2.7m blueprint for the future of a neglected part of Southampton shoreline has sparked anger in the local community.
The three-phase master plan for a 2.3km stretch of Weston Shore, partly funded by the Single Regeneration Budget, includes plans for a licensed family restaurant or caf.
But many locals believe the facility will attract trouble from thugs, similar to that experienced by the management of the Seaweed Inn until its closure more than two years ago.
They also fear that birds and other wildlife that currently flock to Weston Shore may choose pastures new if the area becomes too covered in bricks and mortar.
Speaking during a city council Cabinet committee meeting, Trevor Davies, of Waterside Park Residents' Association, said: "We all remember how the Seaweed Inn became really run down.
"The place was getting targeted night after night by troublemakers and this proposed restaurant would attract the same people.
"The fact that the restaurant or caf would be sited next to the pitch-and-putt course, which is a bit out of sight, will make it more appealing to vandals. It will ruin the shore.
"The area is also a haven for wildlife. What's going to happen to all the different species of birds if new buildings go up?"
Other facilities earmarked to be introduced over the next five years include a new housing development, an all-weather five-a-side football and basketball court, traffic-calming on Weston Parade, and a new cycle and footpath link to Netley Abbey.
Weston councillor Carol Cunio said: "We don't want to turn Weston Shore into Southsea. It's a shore, not a beach.
"We have all sorts of birds feeding off the mudflats and in the evening it's so peaceful when you take a stroll along the shore.
"You just don't get that peace elsewhere in the city and we don't want it taken away."
Council bosses are looking for external partners to help meet the cost of the ambitious master plan.
The publication of the innovative document follows the successful £200,000 revamp of the playground on Weston Shore, completed earlier this year, that has attracted hundreds of children from some of the city's most deprived housing estates.
Sholing councillor Paul Jenks said: "The pitch-and-putt course is losing money and a restaurant or cafe, perhaps run by a family, could regenerate the area.
"I can understand residents' concerns and we still have a lot of work to do to get sufficient money in place to fund all we want to do."
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