Wool housing plans: Nearly 500 new homes could be built

Savills said the housing would be "entirely compatible with neighbouring land uses" and a large proportion of the site would remain as public open space

Plans to build nearly 500 new homes on fields in a Purbeck village have been unveiled.

Savills has written to Dorset Council outlining its intention to submit applications for the 470-house development in Wool, near Wareham.

If the plans are given the go-ahead it could increase the number of households in the village by a quarter.

About 5,300 people live in Wool, which was recorded in the 2011 census as having 2,015 households.

Savills said the proposals were "unlikely to result in widespread environmental effects".

Purbeck Local Plan has allocated 36 hectares of land in Wool as being suitable for development in an effort to meet government housing targets, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Savills said just over a third of the land would be used for new homes with the rest used for other facilities and open space.

The first homes could be built 2020 with construction finished by 2027-28.