A town councillor says now is the time to save our countryside from over-development.

Cllr Andy Canning, who sits on Dorchester Town Council, wants to highlight his concerns about what he called ‘the most important local issue’ of 2019.

It comes after plans to build 3,500 homes in the Dorchester and Charminster area were included in the Local Plan Review, which aims to guide planning in the area until 2036.

Cllr Canning said: “Now is the time to save our countryside from over-development. Residents are rightly concerned by the proposals in the Local Plan Review to build thousands of new houses to the north of Dorchester and at Crossways.

“I share your concerns about the loss of green open spaces, the pressure on our local health services and schools and the effects this will have on congestion and parking.

“The proposal to build all these houses is being put forward by West Dorset District Council as a way to meet the Government’s target for our area to build 794 new houses a year.”

He said the targets are disproportionate and added: “This is a centrally driven target that has little to do with local need.

“I believe that new development should take place to meet local needs and not central government targets. This means fewer houses in total, but more that are genuinely affordable for local families and key workers.

He argued that focus should be given to developing brownfield sites and getting vacant buildings back in use.

He said: “The new Dorset Unitary Council should borrow the money to fund this development as some other councils are doing in other parts of the country.“Priority should be given towards getting empty properties back into use and developing brownfield before greenfield sites.

“There should be a presumption against building on the countryside.

“Lib Dem Councillors are committed to putting local interests first. We believe in genuine localism.”

A petition has been launched by the West Dorset Liberal Democrats to challenge the local plan review target.

To sign the petition visit www.west-dorset-libdems.org.uk/save_our_countryside_petition

Council: Reducing amount of housing not an option

Cllr Ian Gardner, West Dorset District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Planning, said: "Deciding that we’ll only allow a lower amount of development is not an option if our next Local Plan is to receive approval. We are required to demonstrate that we are seeking to meet national house building targets. Without an approved replacement local plan, our local plan policies will carry less weight in appeal decisions and speculative development proposals will have to be allowed. Achieving an approved local plan should provide the council with a much greater say as to where development is to take place and allow us to plan for the necessary infrastructure. 

“We have consulted on draft proposals for how housing numbers could be met across West Dorset and Weymouth and Portland, with sites allocated at a range of locations including Sherborne, Weymouth, Dorchester, Crossways and Chickerell - which is experiencing the largest percentage growth of any town.

“Dorchester is the largest town in West Dorset and Dorset’s county town. A large proportion of local people work there. The Planning Inspector who examined the previous, now adopted, local plan highlighted the need for the review to identify land for more homes at Dorchester.  

“The draft plan makes allowances for 4,621 new homes to be completed on brownfield and windfall sites over the twenty-year plan period, and also for the completion of 4,727 homes that already had planning permission when the plan was drafted. In a rural area like Dorset, it is not possible to meet all of the housing requirement on brownfield sites.”