CONTROVERSIAL plans for 490 new homes between Blandford and Pimperne have been ‘called in’ by the Government.

The scheme, by Wyatt Homes, would see a 37-hectare site north and east of the Blandford Bypass developed and was initially approved by Dorset Council in October last year.

However, it has now been reviewed by Felicity Buchan (Con, Kensington), Minister for Housing and Homelessness, with a public inquiry into the proposals now set to take place.

A calling-in letter from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to Dorset Council says Secretary of State Michael Gove “wishes to be informed” about a number of matters concerning the planning application.

Campaigners say the development would damage the landscape

They are:
a) The extent to which the proposed development is consistent with Government policies for delivering a sufficient supply of homes in the NPPF (Chapter 5);
b) The extent to which the proposed development is consistent with Government policies for conserving and enhancing the natural environment in the NPPF (Chapter 15);
c) The extent to which the proposed development is consistent with the development plan for the area; and
d) any other matters the Inspector considers relevant.

READ MORE: Councillor’s fury over approval for 490 new homes between Blandford and Pimperne
READ MORE: Plans for 490 new homes between Blandford and Pimperne approved

News of the calling-in was greeted with relief by campaigners, including Richard Burden, Cranborne Chase National Landscape (CCNL) principal landscape and planning officer.

He said: “Building 490 dwellings and other buildings on productive farmland in one of the nation’s finest landscapes does not protect that landscape, nor conserve and enhance natural beauty, as intended by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act in 1949, so the CCNL welcomes the decision to call in the application for full and objective scrutiny.”

Campaigners opposing the plans say the development is in breach of planning policy, as the five-year housing requirement for the area has been met, as well as the proposed scheme harming the landscape.

Pimperne Parish Council chair, Cllr Peter Slocombe, spent hundreds of hours with volunteers to create the Neighbourhood Plan for the parish, which he said “was flouted both here and in a previous recent planning application”.