ATTEMPTS by Wimborne Minster Town Council to acquire a community centre and heritage trust base are set to fail.

Ahead of Local Government Reorganisation in Dorset, members of East Dorset District Council cabinet committee have to decide which assets will be passed on to parish authorities.

Wimborne had applied to take on Allendale Community Centre and Allendale House, however these sites are set to be transferred to the new Dorset Council authority.

Ten towns and parishes submitted applications for various assets across the district, and the majority are set to be approved by East Dorset cabinet members at a meeting on Thursday (9.8).

Requests set to approved include play areas, car parks, toilet facilities and open spaces.

However, the application for the two Allendale assets are not recommended for transfer to the town council.

Land at Charborough Green in Sturminster Marshall and the rear of Weavers Close in West Moors.

The report to the cabinet committee says: "It is recommended that the transfer of these four assets should be considered for transfer by the new authority after April 2019 and determined by them at that time.

"It has been difficult to prioritise a list of assets to transfer as none of the Town/Parish Councils have put forward any proposals or schemes which would justify giving their request greater importance than any other. It is difficult, therefore, to propose that any one transfer should take precedence over another."

In total 40 of the 44 bids from towns and parishes have been recommended to be approved.

While the two lands sites and Allendale Community Centre are set to be refused as they are considered to be "land of value" to the new authority, Allendale House is viewed as an "asset of value".

Wimborne and East Dorset councillor Shane Bartlett said he accepted the recommendations put to the committee.

"To honour the structural change order viewed as a potential loss to the new authority must not be transferred to a town or parish," he said. "I fully understand the reasons and I'm hopeful the new authority will consider the town council's application next year.

"With a far bigger area to cover, locality of authority is going to be an issue with residents and town and parish councils. I think it would be a great thing if they were moved into the town council's assets."