The hedgerows are full of blossom, bluebells cover the woods, birdsong fills the lanes. It’s a wonderful spring … except for the dulcet modern Dorset sounds of diggers and drills. Whether you’ve sat in a tailback for yet another gas main, or watched a green field turn into a brick jungle, you’ll know Dorset is steadily being concreted over.No one denies that more housing is needed to deal with a shortage of affordable homes. BUT are the new estates for Dorset residents? From luxury four-bedroom houses to tacky red brick monstrosities, they are not, as far as my parish is concerned. But the planners don’t seem able to stop any of the housebuilding aimed at our green fields. Indeed, new planning laws seem to favour developers over the needs of local communities.
When a planning application comes in for our parish, there is naturally a lot of interest, ranging from welcoming more social housing to issues about spoiled views or concerns about overdevelopment. Most people get angry when they see a good agricultural field being earmarked for development because it’s ‘easier’, when there are obvious brownfield sites that should be prioritised (sidenote: it always amazes me how developers manage to build on a pristine green field with good topsoil and produce landscaping full of dock plants and rubble that looks like something out of The Flintstones).
When these applications arrive, or there’s a local plan to consult on, lots of people have something to say. Sadly, not everyone actually writes a formal objection or a note of support, often because it feels like a waste of time because no one is listening.
The importance of speaking up
Although the new planning laws favour development, there is a wild difference between carefully-planned homes that are affordable on a Dorset salary and integrate well in a community, and the frightful cookie-cutter boxes that litter the countryside and hug our roundabouts. The new planning laws aim for all the preparation and scoping reports to be completed just once. That includes highways reports, drainage assessments, impact on wildlife and the myriad other important documents.
Some of these reports are obviously template responses. For example, Dorset Tourism almost always writes that these homes ‘will bring jobs to the area, benefiting the economy’, and never mentions the unappealing urban sprawl faced by the county’s visitors. I do sometimes wonder what they would say if anyone submitted plans for clifftop homes at Durdle Door I hope that isn’t tempting fate!
Likewise, there is rarely a comment from the NHS, despite them receiving funds from developers for ‘infrastructure.’ My favourite, though, has to be the transport team’s particular response in one application to the lack of public transport: ‘we’ll build a bus shelter’. OK … and how about an actual bus?
But what if the reports are not submitted? Or lack any real detail? Is that sufficient to make a decision? That’s where it is important to challenge the application and raise concerns. The new planning laws make it easier to build, but the appeals process has changed as well. Now, because everything is only meant to be done once, nothing new can be submitted by third parties once an appeal process is in place.
So if that large sprawl planned for the edge of your village affects drainage, infrastructure or road safety, or does not meet local housing needs, make sure you raise concerns. Because if you don’t, you probably won’t have much of a say in future. Your voice counts, and it is really important to question an urban-style development in a rural environment.
While there is no denying the need for houses, they need to be the right kind, actually meeting the needs of local people. What happens when older people stop driving but still want to live independently?
What happens when the local primary school has used every available space, including the corridors?
And how will an increase of 200 daily car journeys in a village – there’s no public transport remember – affect junction safety?
Regardless of the promises, meaningful and effective infrastructure is simply not following developments in rural areas. Every large development needs to be rigorously questioned, and sometimes local knowledge is invaluable in that process.
Most objections I see are constructive, with genuine concerns about the community impact of more housing with no extra jobs, improved roads or new GP services.
If you want to be a dormitory village with no facilities, then go ahead and stay quiet. However, if we are to protect the natural beauty of rural Dorset,all of us need to SPEAK UP so that we can influence how our communities are shaped in future.
The Dorset Insider lifts the lid on local politics with frankness and a touch of mischief. Penned by an anonymous parish councillor whose identity is known to and trusted by the editorial team, it offers unvarnished opinion from the front line. Expect candour, clarity and the occasional raised eyebrow.
