PROTESTERS are calling for a “special site” to be removed from revised local plan proposals and protected from development.

Members of the King Charles Estate Residents Association have spoken out against proposals by the Dorset Councils Partnership to earmark sites for potential development after a government inspector said the original local plan required more housing.

In the Bridport area, potential sites for development include Happy Island Way, land east of Lee Lane, north of Bradpole and Walditch, west of Allington, east of West Bay, north of Townsend Way and west of Pymore. Residents have been voicing their opposition at demonstrations over the last two weeks.

A public consultation is currently being held for people to have their say on the proposals. Earlier this month, Trevor Warrick, spatial policy and implementation manager for the Dorset Council’s Partnership, told The News that public opinion would be taken into account. The updated plan needs to include 4,000 additional homes to be built up to 2036, while the proposed sites combined would provide more than 20,000 extra homes.

Chris Savory, chairman of the King Charles Estate Residents’ Association, said: “It was abundantly clear before this review that local people object to development on this special site, and we are backed up by our district councillors, the Bradpole parish plan, the town council, the neighbourhood plan consultation and many hundreds of local people.

“I have written to Mr Warrick asking him to honour his word and remove this site from the process before the next draft is published.

“We find it hard to understand how the officers need to ask for local views again when more than 600 letters of protest were submitted during the last consultation process.”

The residents association claims that 100 people have already protested by writing to the council and were adamant they did not want the field above the Pack Horse Bridge and Happy Island built on.

Ros Kayes, who represents Bradpole on West Dorset District Council (WDDC), joined the protest.

She said: “These proposals fly in the face of the opinion of local people.“The district council know this because of the scale of the protest against the previous, much smaller proposals.“WDDC need to stand up to unreasonable demands for housing by government. Yes we need affordable homes, but not in places which provide a vital lung to Bridport and Bradpole. We need to retain the open space between the two that so many people enjoy.”

Cllr Ian Gardner, WDDC’s executive portfolio holder for planning, said: “public consultation on the issues and options for the Local Plan Review runs until 3 April 2017. After that date we will analyse all the responses to all the possible options sites across West Dorset and Weymouth & Portland before moving forward to the next draft.“At the current time, With the consultation still running, it’s too early to say which sites will be removed from the process. If local people wish to express their views on any of the possible option sites, we need to have their responses to the current consultation by April 3.”