POOLE residents are celebrating after the contentious Solar Pyramid proposal was officially scrapped by Poole council.

"It's one-nil to us," said David Howard, chairman of Parkstone Bay Association, which fought off a proposal by Solar Pyramid Ltd to build a massive sundial, possibly at Harbourside Park (Baiter).

Council leader Cllr Brian Leverett, who on January 10 announced the council could no longer support the scheme, said: "The pyramid is now dead and buried."

On Tuesday evening the borough's cabinet made the formal decision to kill it off, ceasing all negotiations surrounding the privately-funded proposal.

Cllr Leverett said the council had been right to consider it and would look at other possible tourist attraction proposals, large or small, should it be approached.

Cabinet also asked the local economy overview group to look at the whole issue of boosting the High Street, quay area and tourism as a whole.

"We have to maintain and support the tourism industry. It actually provides employment for 4,800 and puts £200 million into the economy," he said.

"If something else comes up we will look at it responsibly. We are not going around saying we want a Solar Pyramid in Poole. If it were to come forward we have an absolute duty to look into it," he said.

But Mr Howard said: "Are Poole Harbour and Sandbanks not enough attractions?"

He added: "High streets are dying all over the country. It's a forlorn hope that some wonderful attraction is going to bring people down the bottom end of Poole High Street."