MARNHULL Parish Council is putting up a fight against plans to build 120 homes in the village.
Plans to build up to 120 houses along with shops and a business premises across two sites in Marnhull – at a plot named Tess Square and in Butts Close – were rejected by Dorset Council in July 2024.
However, the applicant, Paul Crocker, has now appealed the decision, and an inquiry is set for April 8.
READ MORE: Plans for 120 homes, shops and business premises at Marnhull revealed
The council has been crowdfunding to raise money to hire a planning barrister and a planning specialist to assist with their representation in the inquiry.
The fundraiser has reached £8,521 of its £15,000 target so far.
Marnhull Parish Council (MPC) would be a Rule Six party in the inquiry, meaning they will be able to present their case.
MPC said this is “the single most important planning application regarding the village ever.”
A spokesperson said: “If the appeal is successful, the village will change beyond recognition.
“There are indeed two very contrasting and divergent visions for Marnhull’s future – one being drafted in close consultation with residents in the developing village neighbourhood plan and the other independently by our largest landowner.
“MPC believes this proposed application is disproportionate for the size of Marnhull and presents many local issues that need to be surfaced at the inquiry in terms of highway safety, heritage and landscape.
“These will impact us all individually but will also adversely impact cherished local businesses.
“This view is widely supported by our 2023 parish survey feedback, by representations from residents during the planning process and by feedback at parish meetings.”
They added: “The opportunity to present a local viewpoint at an inquiry is an expensive process. We need to be represented by a barrister and experts who will advise us on navigating the complexities of the planning system in a time of great change.
“At the parish council meeting of December 2, 2024, almost the entire room backed the proposal to raise funds to help us meet these costs.”
One reader said: “This is not something the majority of the villagers support. There is no infrastructure in place to support an increase in numbers.
“We have few street lights or pavements, narrow roads and old houses with little foundations that won’t cope with such an increase in traffic.
“The doctor’s surgery is already finding it difficult to cope with the current number of villagers, and the schools are full. The whole ethos of the village will be spoilt by such a development.”
Another reader added that the schools are not full and that they would welcome more children.
They said: “Having a son that goes to one of the schools in Marnhull, I would love it to flourish more as I can assure you that the school is not full, considering three year groups have had to go into one year group as there are not enough students to justify singular classes.”
Mr Crocker is acting like a medieval feudal lord who can dictate “Marnhull’s future” as HE sees it, despite the majority of the village residents clearly stating their opposition. This is not democracy. The Crocker family must listen to the majority and stop pursuing this application.
You say above “MPS said this is “the single most important”” I think you mean “MPC said this is “the single most important””
The doctors surgery is only open for two mornings per week as the practise cannot find enough doctors to run it. The schools are not full due in one case to several poor Ofsted reports.
The planning application would seriously damage the structure of the village which has been an amalgamation of smaller hamlets with a central hub. The village doesn’t need more housing. The highways and sewage/water infrastructure is not man enough for this sized development.