70 homes for Okeford Fitzpaine REFUSED
There were concerns the development was too big for the area
Plans to build 70 homes in the village of Okeford Fitzpaine near Blandford, have been turned down.
An application would have seen properties built on the former Wessex Park Homes site on Shillingstone Lane.
But the proposals had a number of objections, including from Okeford Fitzpaine and Shillingstone Parish Councils.
Okeford Fitzpaine Parish Council said it would prefer the site to remain for employment use and claimed there was no need for further homes in the area.
The parish also raised concerns about traffic and claimed that the isolated site was unsustainable, as everyone living there would have to travel by car.
There were also worries that a development would blur villages together 'with the inevitable consequence of Okeford Fitzpaine and Shillingstone merging into a suburban blot on the landscape'.
Shillingstone Parish Council were concerned that the local roads wouldn't be able to handle the amount of extra traffic, and more housing there would add pressure to the Okeford Fitzpaine school and the sewerage system, which could cause flooding.
In their response to Dorset Council, the Shillingstone Parish authority said:
“The scheme provides for 70 market houses only – there is no provision for any affordable or social housing – the development would do nothing to serve the housing needs of local people and will only serve the interests of the developers."
Dorset Council has decided not to let the development go ahead, saying it doesn't fit in with the local plan:
“The proposed erection of 70 dwellings located in the countryside would result in an unsustainable form of development with limited access to local services, inadequate provision for pedestrian and cyclist access and inadequate transport choice for future occupants….it would result in an unacceptably suburban appearance and a resultant adverse impact on the rural character and appearance of the surrounding area.”