'Flawed' Dorchester homes consultation 'must be repeated'

Campaigners claim the development would damage the town's heritage and tourism

A parish council is demanding a re-run of a "flawed" consultation process into controversial plans for more than 3,500 homes near a county town.

The development, north of Dorchester, is being put forward by Dorset Council in its first local plan.

But Stinsford parish, where much of the land lies, says the consultation, which ends on Monday, has not been "meaningful" because of the pandemic.

Dorset Council said the consultation had reached a large number of people.

Stinsford Parish Council has become the latest group to oppose the plans, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, saying there is insufficient evidence about why Dorchester must grow "so dramatically".

Dorchester Town Council, the protest group STAND (Save the Area North of Dorchester) and West Dorset MP Chris Loder also oppose the development.

In a statement, Stinsford Parish Council said: "The difficulties created by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the way in which consultation can take place is acknowledged but this should not be used as an excuse to reduce accessible and meaningful engagement with all residents of Dorset and stakeholder groups and organisations."

Dorset planning councillor David Walsh said there had been "accessible and meaningful engagement" and the "digitally innovative" eight-week consultation had been inclusive, allowing people to respond in a variety of ways.

He said: "We will not extend the consultation beyond 15th March.

"The statistics show the consultation is reaching a large number of people and as such we don't feel there is a lack of awareness."

Dorset Council has been holding webinars and podcasts on the local plan, which is also available on the council's website as well as in hard copy format.

A dedicated phone number is also available for anyone with questions.