Plans for two shepherd hut holiday homes on a woodland site north east of Stubbs Bridge, Monkton Wyld, have been approved.

The application had the support of Wootton Fitzpaine Parish Council after visiting the site. Resident Mr Arthur Lee wrote the only letter on the proposal to tell Dorset Council he was happy with the permission being granted: “I have no objection to these characteristic shepherds huts being used as holiday lets. There is already camping at Briggs and holiday cottages at Champernhayes, the shepherds huts are in keeping with the countryside and offer a different accommodation opportunity for visitors to enjoy in the area,” he said.

The site is within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with the woodland designated a Priority Habitat.

The proposed huts will be 5.6m long and 2.5 m wide and will include a small toilet and shower room with a kitchen/living area with double bed. Each will be a traditional design with metal cladding and curved metal roof; timber windows, fascia, door and steps; and metal wheels and chassis. They will be positioned, apart, on hardstanding with space for one car.

One will be close to the eastern boundary of the site on the edge of a heavily wooded area and immediately adjacent to the existing track leading to the farm buildings with the second site further north in a small clearing.

A planning officer’s report on the application concluded: “The proposed shepherds’ huts would be located within clearings in the wood and as such are considered to be appropriate in this rural location. This type of tourist accommodation aims to offer tranquillity and isolation; attractions and facilities are available in nearby Lyme Regis which would require transport by private car but there are also a number of public footpaths in the vicinity. The diversification of land-based rural businesses is generally supported and the shepherds hut accommodation is acceptable.”