Plans for 50 homes at Bourton refused permission

A 50-home plan for the outskirts of Bourton has been refused planning permission.

A Dorset Council area planning committee voted unanimously against the 'in principle' application for a 7 hectare site on the western side of the village adjacent to Chaffeymoor Farm – against the recommendation of officers who said it should be approved, with conditions.

They had taken the view that promised financial contributions to improve, or rebuild the village hall; with donations to Gillingham High School and 40% ‘affordable’ homes on the site; meant the public benefits of the scheme outweighed any harm.

But committee members sided with residents who told them that the new homes were simply not wanted, or needed, with thousand of homes already in the pipeline for nearby Shaftesbury, Gillingham and Wincanton.

One resident said that while a proposed play area and open space were welcome as part of the scheme they were in the wrong place for most of the village to use and, like the homes, close to the busy A303, would suffer from noise and pollution.

Another resident said that with a minimal bus service and few local facilities everyone who lived on the proposed development would have to use a car for virtually everything they needed to do.

There was also much local opposition to using the site with Bourton having already grown substantially in recent year.

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