Planning Inspector rejects housing development near Wolfeton House
Campaigners have been fighting the proposal for 6 years
Controversial plans for homes close to the historic Wolfeton House near Dorchester have been turned down by a planning inspector.
The decision has been welcomed by residents who have fought development proposals for the Westleaze site over six years.
The house, on the outskirts of Charminster, is said to be Dorset’s best Grade 1 listed building, and has historic connections with Thomas Hardy.
Said one of the campaigners, David Shaw: “We can only hope that, now a second recent appeal has been dismissed on this land, together with the refusal of the 1989 appeal, that the developers will now “give up” and that it will also put off the owners of the bottom half of the Strawberry Field from pursuing a planning application on that part of the field.”
The Planning Inspector decided that the proposed homes would have had an negative impact on the setting of Wolfeton House, The Riding Stables, and other nearby listed buildings, the Charminster Conservation Area and the character of the landscape.
Mr Shaw says that, importantly, the Inspector has also accepted that Dorset Council can currently prove an approximate 5.25 year housing land supply, above the 5-year supply limit which often generates speculative developments.
Dorset Council had refused the Land Value Alliances outline application for 80 homes in September 2021, the number having been reduced from 89 when it was first submitted, with 120 proposed in a 2019 application. The site is known locally as “The Strawberry Field.”
The Pegasus Group, who acted for Land Value Alliances, had claimed that the southern part of the site would create “a landscape buffer” incorporating a public open space, between the proposed homes and Wolfeton House.
They claimed that the smaller, revised scheme, with fewer houses, extra landscaping and redesigned homes, together with moving the build zone further north, would soften the impact on Wolfeton House.
But opponents argued that no matter what was done to lessen the impact of the homes there would still be a negative effect on Wolfeton and the Charminster Conservation Area, by their very presence.
The historic house, and its associated buildings, were constructed, in phases, by the Trenchard family with parts of the complex dating back to the 15th century. The family were among the key characters in the recent Dorchester Community Play, Spinning the Moon, which referenced a visit to the Wolfeton by the King of Spain.
In her report the Planning Inspector notes: “There is no doubt that Wolfeton House holds great historic and architectural significance, which reflect its status as a listed building of exceptional interest. The special interest of Wolfeton House is also derived from the strong links it holds with Thomas Hardy who described it as ‘an ivied manor house, battlemented towers, and distinguished by the size of its many mullioned windows’. The house and the Trenchard family are believed to have inspired some of Hardy’s characters.”