Plans for 700 homes reviewed after legal threat

The application by developer WH White was unanimously approved by the council in March

A decision to approve controversial plans for almost 700 homes in Dorset will be reviewed after councillors were threatened with legal action.

Hundreds of people objected to the scheme of 695 homes built on 79 acres of former green belt land in Bearwood.

Despite the opposition, Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council granted planning permission in March.

The council will now reconsider the application after it was warned it had not correctly considered the proposals.

Bearwood Action Group raised concerns about the impact the development would have on traffic, calling it an "unproven assumption" that new residents would not use cars.

But BCP council's planning committee unanimously agreed to approve the scheme put forward by developer WH White, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

"This is a place where there will be a development at some point, regardless of whether it's this application or another," councillor Toby Johnson said.

"Therefore, it's about picking the right one that comes forward. I think this is as good as it gets for a community in this area."

But the committee was warned by former Poole councillor Marion Pope that the application "did not comply" with planning policy due to the use of still designated green belt land for a foul water pumping station.

Legal advice on the issue was sought by opponents of the scheme and put to the council, LDRS reported.

The council has now accepted this and agreed that the application will be put back before the planning committee for reconsideration when it next meets on 22 July.