The designation says it all. “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”.

This has been decreed by government and as such should have protected the area for years to come.

However Dorset Council have ridden roughshod over all the regulation, aided and abetted by weak civil servants and government ministers.

Did the council rush through their decision weeks before a law comes in that gives locals a say about building projects? 

750 homes have now tacitly given the go ahead despite the lack of assurances from the utility company's that they will be able to provide services, how will the NHS provide staff for the promised new facilities when the main surgery in Bridport is unable to recruit?

The Vearse Farm project, it will always be known locally as this despite a name change, is not about meeting the housing needs of Bridport but about making money. 

The majority of houses will be beyond the means of those locals needing homes but yield a good profit to the developers as second homes and holiday accommodation.

Areas like Green Belt, Brown Belt and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty we had all thought would protect the countryside for years to come are not worth the paper they are written on. 

They can be ignored, like local protests, by a council which serves businesses rather than the public who elect them. 

Hopefully our local MP will be able to get the relevant minister and departments to review this decision in retrospect and overturn a very bad decision.

Chris Cherry

Bridport