82 new homes agreed for the village of Charminster
A new housing scheme to expand the village has been approved.
An 80-plus home extension to Charminster has been approved.
The new housing scheme will be off the A37 and will bring the village new allotments, community orchard and other green spaces.
More than a third of the 82 homes will be ‘affordable’ with a new road link into the site off the main Dorchester to Yeovil road and another access off Wanchard Lane.
The development is an extension to the previous Charminster Farm schemes of more than 120 homes.
The Wyatt Homes application was unanimously approved by an online area planning committee on Tuesday.
The company say the homes site is a logical extension to Charminster, linking with the first and second phase of its Charminster Farm scheme with the designs to reflect existing buildings in the area, including the use of red brick and flint. The company says that more than 80 per cent of those who live in their scheme have come from Dorset.
But some councillors were critical that the site is outside of the defined development boundary although all fell short of asking for the scheme to be rejected because of that.
Cllr Jon Andrews said that sooner or later the council should challenge developments which were outside the boundaries. He said the Local Plan was being undermined by the council continually approving schemes on areas which were supposed to be protected.
But he was told by planning officers that until the area meets the Government’s target of having a five-year housing land supply it remained almost impossible to reject suitable schemes without embarking on costly court challenges.
The committee heard that the land immediately to the south of Wanchard Lane would remain open as parkland, allotments and a community orchard with a new site provided for allotments to replace those currently off Weir View. Charminster Parish Council has asked that it be allowed to take on the management of some or all of these green areas.
Councillor Les Fry and Brian Heatley both asked for the developers to consider adding more sustainable elements to their scheme including solar panels and ground source heating. They said the council should be asking every developer to do this from now on, in light of the authority’s declared climate and ecological emergency.
The scheme does include an electric car charging point.