A 37-acre site between Southill and Radipole is expected to be transferred from the borough council to the new Weymouth town council in April.

Tumbledown Farm had previously been ear-marked for allotments, a new base for the council parks department and plant nursery and possible use by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. There has also been plans to run it as a community care farm.

Briefholder Cllr Jon Orrell says the site could also be used for what the NHS describes as ‘social prescribing’ – where people suffering from depression and other mental health issues, are signed up for outdoor courses.

“It is a wonderful site which could have a lot of beneficial uses,” said Cllr Orrell at Monday’s borough council management committee.

The site is identified in the Local Plan as being made up of open agricultural grassland, water meadows and areas of woodland, all outside the development boundary, but within the Radipole Conservation Area. Parts of the holding are designated as a Sites of Special Scientific Interest, offering greater protection from development.

Other uses which have been considered for part of the site in the past include natural burials and for the burial of pets, or their cremated remains.