A consultation on the draft Dorset Council Local Plan will start on 18 January 2021. Once adopted, the Local Plan will guide decisions on planning applications in Dorset for the next 15 years. The draft Dorset Council Local Plan will be discussed at next week’s Cabinet meeting. View the papers and the Dorset Council Local Plan
The local plan outlines the strategy for ensuring the growth that the area needs happens in the right places, and is of the right character and quality, while protecting Dorset’s natural environment and acting on climate change. It also ensures that the right level of community services is provided, including schools, as well as retail, leisure and other community facilities.
Why is the Local Plan important?
The Dorset Council Local Plan sets out planning policies and allocations to meet the needs of the whole of the Dorset Council area until at least the year 2038. Once adopted, the Local Plan, alongside any Neighbourhood Plans, will be the legal starting point in determining planning applications for the area.
If there isn’t a local plan in place then the ability for Dorset Council to influence the location and character of developments is limited.
Why is consultation important?
Planning affects the future of Dorset. The council wants to be sure that everybody can be involved in both the preparation of the Local Plan and decisions on planning applications.
Involvement of public and stakeholders through the plan making process is important, as it allows local knowledge and expertise to be gathered from a wide range of perspectives.
Who will be consulted?
The council is required to consult with a range of stakeholders including public bodies such as the Environment Agency and voluntary bodies such as local charities.
The council will continue to consult town and parish councils, who can provide a wealth of local knowledge and represent the concerns of local residents.
The Duty to Cooperate, a legal test that requires cooperation with neighbouring planning authorities, means that the council will be talking to neighbouring councils to ensure that all housing and employment needs have been met.
To ensure proposals are deliverable, the council will work with local landowners and the development industry, alongside infrastructure and service providers.
The council believes that all residents and businesses operating in the area should have the opportunity to be involved in the plan making process and they are therefore invited to comment on the draft local plan.
When will this happen?
The first Dorset Council Local Plan consultation will begin 18January 2021 and will last for eight weeks. There will be a further opportunity to comment in late 2021 before the Plan is submitted for independent examination and adopted in 2023.
How you can have your say
The draft Dorset Council Local Plan will be available on the council’s website. During the consultation, there will be displays in libraries where you can borrow a hard copy of the plan. A dedicated phone line will be available for enquiries from Monday – Friday. The council will also be holding virtual webinars on key themes within the Local Plan for residents to discover and ask questions about proposals.
There is also a series of podcasts that have been developed to help people understand key local plan topics such as consultation, housing, the Green Belt and infrastructure (including roads and public transport). These are available via Spotify, iTunes and Anchor.
Cllr David Walsh, Dorset Council portfolio holder for planning, said:
“We are planning for Dorset’s future, for the future of our residents. It is so important that we understand everyone’s view on the draft Local Plan as much as we can.
“We are working closely with all our stakeholders, our own councillors and town and parish councils to make sure we reach all parts of Dorset.”
What will happen to the old local and neighbourhood plans?
The Draft Dorset Council Local Plan has used all the information gathered by the former borough and district councils. The Purbeck Local Plan is the only one that was at an advanced stage and, once it has completed a final consultation and been independently examined, it will form part of the Dorset area plan until the Dorset Council Local Plan is adopted. Neighbourhood plans will be used in conjunction with the overall Dorset Council Local Plan to inform planning decisions.
Please note: comments on this artoicle will not be sumitted to the consultation.
Where are the possible sites for future house building in Wimborne in the next 15 years ? – hopefully this will not be on green belt land.
The council and government don’t care about green belt land providing the rich get richer , nevermind about the environment and the fact that we are driving most other species to extinction
I strongly disagree with the high numbers of houses planned for crossways/woodsford without first putting in the adequate roads to service them. I am aware that all objections are pointless as made plain by other plans that go ahead regardless of public opinion
Sturminster Newton in north Dorset plan how can you use a map that is 15 years out of date and high light areas on it. Or mention it in any planning context
Where are the Transport and Highway solutions and plans for all of these new developments with the inevitable increase of traffic?
Lara – Transport and highways are part of the plan. The Dorset Council Local Plan will look at how developments can help people move around without the need for cars.
I write to express my concerns and objections to housing development proposals for Alderholt. The number of new houses proposed (2400) is totally abhorrent, unrealistic and would be disasterous for the surrounding area.
Alderholt is a rural village and simply does not have the infrastructure for such development.. The roads are inadequate (the number of extra traffic this housing development would clog our small narrow roads to capacity). There are no supermarkets nearby or schools and Fordingbridge surgery cannot cope with the number of patients it has now. There are also no realistic jobs opportunities within the local area.
There are plenty of more suitable brown fields sites within Dorset which are nearer to larger towns which could more easily absorb the extra capacity of people which would inevitably be created.
I strongly oppose this proposed development and hope you will have the sense to see that Alderholt is far from ideal going forward.
Hi Ann – the consultation opens on Monday 18 January. you can get to the it through this link https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/dorset-council-local-plan.aspx Only comments on this form will be accepted. Comments on this news article will not be submitted to the consultation.
Lisa
I absolutely agree with the comments that Anne has left on the plans for 2,400 homes in Alderholt.
I think it’s a terrible idea as our roads and infrastructure is not capable of absorbing that amount of extra people within the village.
With only one small food shop, school and hardly any public transport, not to mention inadequate roads and no footpath to the local town of Fordingbridge situated 2.5 miles away!
Larger towns like Verwood and Wimborne already have the infrastructure to deal with this kind of influx and therefore would be better suited for this kind of development plan.
Hi Lisa – the consultation opens on Monday 18 January. you can get to the it through this link https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/dorset-council-local-plan.aspx Only comments on this form will be accepted. Comments on this news article will not be submitted to the consultation.
It seems the environment and wildlife are never considered anymore. We are facing a climate crisis, our waterways are highly polluted with sewage and pesticides, the roads are congested with high levels of traffic and houses are constantly now being built on green belt land. No land seems sacred and the council/government seem only to care about money!!!!!!
We are literally destroying the planet and driving innocent animals to extinction for ourselves.
Hi Victoria, I totally agree with you, the council is trying to make Dorset a city of houses with no jobs so it’ll be a huge slum run with drugs and the council members probably live in second homes away from it
Hi Brian – the idea behind the plan is actually completely opposuite of this. By planning communities with the right facilities and infrastructure we make places that people want to live, work and enjoy. Fiona
In section 1.1.2 of the Dorset Council Local Plan, you state that once adopted, it will become part of the “development plan”. Can you provide me with details as to what this “development plan” is? Also, if a neighbourhood plan (NP) has been made, is it included in its entirety in the “development plan”? If not, then what elements of the made NP are retained in the “development plan”?
Hi Derek – Planning law requires that applications for planning permission be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The development plan for an area comprises the adopted local plan and any made neighbourhood plans. Should there be a conflict between a policy in the Local Plan and a policy in the Neighbourhood Plan, the conflict must be resolved in favour of the policy which is contained in the last document to become part of the development plan. Fiona
The proposal to build a significant number of houses in Alderholt is absolutely crazy. The resultant traffic based loosely upon 2 cars per household would equate to 300 houses x 2 cars per household with most of these vehicles leaving and arriving to their homes at around the same times we can expect gridlock on the approach road to Fordingbridge where the road narrows. More gridlock on the approach road to Cranborne where the road narrows. This would make a tailback situation to the S bend in Alderholt thus blocking Hillbury and Ringwood roads. Alderholt needs to stay a village otherwise widen the roads, build new roads, then you can build new homes – delete the name Alderholt (village) and just refer to it as Verwood.
Hi David – you will see that we have explained that large development can only take place if infrastructure is also put into place. But please add your thoughts into the consultation at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/dorset-council-local-plan.aspx
Are the 1640 homes peoposed for Ferndown and West Parley in addition to the homes that have already received permission, but are yet to be built? If so, what will be the total number of new homes in addition to the ones that currently exist?
Hi Sarah – The plan proposes 2 new sites at Ferndown which are Angel Lane and Dudsbury Golf Course which we are proposing 1,100 homes at when combined. On top of this are sites that have been previously allocated and may already have permission. This comprises the sites east and west of New Road in West Parley, and Green Worlds. So when adding these three sites onto the 1,100 you get the 1,640. This info can be seen on page 9 of volume 2 of the plan, within the table that sets out each allocation for Ferndown and the number of homes.
We are not happy that a travellers site is planned for Swanage. It will be right next to pensioners bungalows,and behind a n infants school.Would you be happy for your wheelchair bound elderly relative to have this “over the wall”, or leave your young children in school right there? The site in Wareham has sufficient space. And will these be local people?
Black field Farm, West Moors, should be designated as Green Belt, it is totally unsuitable for development.
I am horrified at the thought of 170 houses at Azalea roundabout. Has the impact on schools, doctors and traffic been thought about.
Hi Beryl – all community services are considered alongside any new housing. Please add your comments into the consultation at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/dorset-council-local-plan.aspx comments made here will not be included. Fiona
Blackfield Farm is totally unsuitable for development and should be designated as Green Belt. The Avenue could not cope with additional traffic and the site has great ecological value.
The thought of 170 homes at Azalea fills me with horror, what will be the impact on schools and doctors surgeries, they cannot cope at the moment.
I have nothing new to add to the objections already made except to add my support to these objections. I am concerned that rural areas with their individual characters will just develop into conurbations with all the infrastructure problems that will ensue.
Among the a object very strongly to the preposed plan for to the development of the Blackfield Farm land. The close proximity of some of the last remaining tracts of Heath Land which contains many red and amber list species of wild life will suffer from the unnecessary , but inevitable disturbance. Several wild life organisations would like the and the surrounding areas made a special protected area because of its national importance and also made part of the green belt . Among the endangered species affected will be: Nightjar, Dartford Warbler, Wood Lark, Linnet, Smooth Snake, Sand Lizard, Newts, Grayling Butterfly, Silver-studded Blue butterfly , at least 27 species of Odonata, nearly, two hundred species of wild flowers, ten of which are orchids, over one hundred and twenty species of Fungi and innumerable other insects such as moths, flies etc. To allow this development to go ahead would be an ecological disaster.
please add your comments at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/dorset-council-local-plan.aspx
The proposed developments around Ferndown will add to the already
overcrowded roads. Will there be sufficient School places and capacity at local GPs to cope with these extra homes? I understand the need for more housing but the proposed sites in my opinion are not suitable.
Please add your comments into the consultation at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/dorset-council-local-plan.aspx Fiona
Lytchett Matravers is a village, not a town. It has a village centre with very limited shops and recreational facilities.
The population in the country generally is stable, changes in the population in specific areas are down to migration rather than natural growth.
The village does not have any significant employment opportunities – a few small estates making small units available but any expansion would mean that most people living in the village would have to travel significant distances.
The village has roughly doubled in size in the last 40 years. This should suggest that there has been plenty of opportunity for people who feel they “come from” Lytchett to find accommodation in the village.
There are, therefore, no reasons why migration to Lytchett Matravers would take place naturally.
The village is surrounded by Green Belt land. This year especially, the value of green space within easy reach of houses has been clearly demonstrated. Green Belt must be preserved.
So why expand Lytchett? There must be Brownfield sites that have not been developed, perhaps because they are considered contaminated. Cleaning up such contamination is a one-off cost for the builder – perhaps it makes it less profitable for them to build on brownfield sites but these sites would not be causing loss of Green Belt so the non-quantifiable but considerable environmental costs should be set against the quantifiable economic costs.
Dear Sir
I comment on the land earmarked for building that boarders Park Homer Drive in Colehill from bytheway field upwards. The land in question (south west from PHD towards bytheway field) is elevated well above the houses in the street. The proposed new houses will look directly down into park homer drive numbers 13 through to 27. This is a privacy issue.
Secondly park homer drive suffers from major water issues as it’s in a bowl and there are many natural springs running through the area. Any building here is likely to impact the water courses causing huge problems for those below. We know having just been quoted 37k to deal with the flooding we experience.
Finally I am opposed to the building on greenbelt land. It was designated green belt for a reason and this is a slippery slope.
To say there are no other suitable building sites in the Wimborne area is simply untrue. Why build on an area that impacts existing housing when there are other areas that don’t. For instance the housing estate off Cranborne Road could easily be extended as there is acres of land known as, and adjoining, dog dene that is not overlooked and could have accommodated these additional dwellings without upsetting residents who bought their homes overlooking green belt land in good faith.
I believe these plans should be rejected and alternatives not impacting on green belt land considered.
Hi I agree with you and in my opinion the only way to stop this council is to vote it off
Understand people feel that additional homes should not be built and that it is unsustainable etc. This is their opinion.
I hold the opinion that it was ok to build houses on fields where they live now, so why is it one rule for them?
Sure, volumes, accessibility, greenspace are all part of it – so let the planners do their job and allow for that.
Just get on with it and build. We have generations who will never have access to their own home. How is that fair, reasonable or planning for the future.
Just saying No is not progressive or a positive contribution to the discussion.