Challenge housing plans urge rural campaigners

The Dorset Local Plan will determine housing and infrastructure development for the next 15 years.

Central government's "unrealistic" central housing targets should be challenged to protect Dorset's communities and environment, a campaign group has urged,

The Dorset Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said Dorset Council had given a "robust response" to the government's target of 3,230 new homes.

It said the view needed to be taken into account when the council started the next phase of the consultation on the Dorset Local Plan which will determine housing and infrastructure development for the next 15 years.

The council had said a figure of 1,800 new homes per year would be a "more realistic challenge".

The local authority's response to the government's consultation on the planning framework in 2024 said: "The housing figure for Dorset (3,230) is nearly twice the average annual completion rate, and in our view is not a realistic target given the constrained nature of Dorset, its lack of major industry/employment, and relatively poor transport connections."

CPRE Dorset said this stance, reflected the 9,000 responses to the previous council's draft Local Plan.

It said the council had a mandate to take a "constrained" approach to developing a new Local Plan reflecting "Dorset's very special environment and heritage".

"The council's Local Plan should be based on housing figures which accurately reflect Dorset's real housing needs, including for truly affordable homes for local people.

"In the upcoming public consultation on the Local Plan, Dorset Council needs to inform and consult with local people about the challenges we face and the approach that it intends to take, including on housing numbers and affordable homes," CPRE said.

The consultation for the Local Plan is set to be discussed by the council's cabinet at a meeting on Tuesday.

A council report ahead of the meeting said: "Public consultation is a vital part of the process, and this consultation will enable a wide range of views to be taken into account in moving the plan forwards."