Bridport Town Council rejects Vearse Farm plans as development labelled 'sheer lunacy'

Bridport Town Council has recommended that West Dorset District Council (WDDC) reject the outline plans by Hallam Land Management for the Vearse Farm development for a number of reasons – including the lack of a masterplan, and concerns over traffic.

As part of the plans, 760 homes, a care home, a new school and a network of roads would be created near Symondsbury, just west of Bridport.

West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin has written to planners to ask the process be halted until locals are allowed to form a neighbourhood plan. But WDDC planning officer Andrew Martin described the idea as ‘rather odd’ and urged residents to give up on believing a neighbourhood plan will stop any development at this stage.

At Monday’s meeting, members of the public and councillors voiced their anger at the plans.

Cllr Dave Rickard criticised the developers for not providing a masterplan, as was expected.

He said: “The idea of forming a masterplan after the planning application has been made is sheer lunacy.

“Anybody who doesn’t build a masterplan before they start thinking about what they are going to do is upside down.”

Cllr Rickard also hit out at at the consequences a large application would have on Bridport.

“To increase the traffic back to what it was before the bypass was built, then you are in trouble,” he said.

“I am absolutely gobsmacked that they have not thought to put an exit towards Miles Cross.

“There are so many infrastructure problems with this site of this size, next to Bridport. There is so much that is wrong with this plan.”

Barry Bates said: “There is an awful lot of work Hallam needs to do before they can even justify people taking this outline planning application forward.

“This is over-development – 760 houses in eight years is far too fast — and in the wrong place.”

Richard Nicholls said the Vearse Farm development would put services ‘under pressure every day’.

He said: “The Vearse Farm development, as it is, would be both detrimental to both the economic and social fabric of this town.

“It will introduce at least 1,200 new cars into our town. Public services will be put under pressure every day and there is a real uncertainty about the amount of affordable housing for peoplethat need it in this town.”

Cllr Julian Jones said the town cannot ignore the planning application, and should work to ensure Bridport’s priorities are listened to.

Cllr Jones said: “I don’t think we can bury our heads in the sand and think if we just say no, this application is going to go away.

“We need to state our priorities of social housing and trying to make this a zero-carbon scheme. That is the sort of thing that Bridport wants. 

"It doesn’t want another Poundbury, it wants everything that Poundbury wasn’t.”

West Dorset District Council isn’t expected to consider the plans until next year.

MP calls for application to be halted

OLIVER Letwin has called on West Dorset District Council to halt the Vearse Farm application while Bridport is allowed to develop a neighbourhood plan.

The West Dorset MP has written to planners to ask if residents can be given a "reasonable timescale" to complete the emerging neighbourhood plan before a decision on Vearse Farm is made.

Speaking to the Bridport News, Mr Letwin said: “I support the building of the homes that are needed in the Bridport area.

“But I really think that Bridport Town Council should be given a reasonable time to produce a neighbourhood plan so that they can see whether they can find anywhere else in the town that the people of Bridport would prefer to use for this purpose.”

But West Dorset planning officer Andrew Martin has told Bridport residents to concentrate on ensuring their views are heard in a workshop session with developers later this month.

Mr Martin said: “Oliver Letwin’s letter is rather odd because it is not really looking at things the right way around.”

“One of the things that is crystal clear is that a neighbourhood plan has to be in conformity with the local plan.

"It is not the other way around."

“Vearse Farm is an allocation in an adopted local plan and there is absolutely no way that a neighbourhood plan is going to change that.”

Former resident calls for affordable homes

A FORMER Bridport resident who was forced to move out of the town due to a lack of affordable housing has spoken out in favour of the proposals.

Tom Glover, 28, has backed the development saying that he believes a failure to support young people from the town will have a "devastating effect on local businesses".

He said: “I would like to offer my full support for this development.

“There are simply not enough homes in Bridport to cope with the expanding population, meaning that houses rarely even make it into an estate agent’s window before being snapped up.

“Those in rented accommodation cannot afford to save, as rental prices are also regularly going up due to demand. 

“It is forcing both young and working people out of the town.

“If this continues then Bridport will become a town of retired people and holiday homeowners.

"It will lose it’s vibrancy and have a devastating effect on local businesses.”

Four hectares of land have been earmarked for employment land in the outline proposals by Hallam Land Management.

West Dorset District Council’s economic regeneration department has welcomed the space for employment as part of the plans.

Trevor Hedger, senior economic regeneration officer at West Dorset District Council, believes that local firms are finding it "increasingly difficult" to find space to grow in Bridport and that the new employment space would be "very welcome".

He said: “Available employment land to accommodate new and expanding businesses in Bridport has not been available for sometime and it is increasingly difficult to find premises to accommodate the economic growth of local businesses.

“The release of new local employment land and the aspiration to provide economic benefit through local purchasing and training is therefore very welcome.”