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Please find below questions we have received relating to the Central Dorset section of the Dorset Council Local Plan options consultation, along with answers given. Please use the following links to scroll to the relevant topic.
Dorchester
Question
What is the expectation for car ownership per household for the North Dorchester development and how is this expectation integrated into proposals for a sustainable transport policy?
Answer
Detailed modelling work for development at Dorchester is being prepared and agree with Highways England who manage the A35 trunk road that bypasses the town. This modelling has looked at all of the development proposals within the town, and those being proposed adjacent to the town and in the wider area. Initial indications are that there is a need for some improvement works at the junctions around the A35 and for a route linking the A35(T) to the B3147. It is not possible at this stage to predict exactly what the vehicle ownership rate will be for future residents of the north of Dorchester development as it will depend upon the form of the development and the uses within it but the current rate of vehicle ownership for Dorchester is 1.174 vehicles per household (Department for Transport's National Trip End Model).
Question
In the context of the Local Plan, what is the anticipated average salary for employment in the Dorchester area and how is that being aligned with affordable housing targets?
Answer
The annual average salary for employment in West Dorset is £20,782 based on where people work. You can find this data on the Government website (See table 7.7a: Annual pay – Gross (£) for all employee jobs for details). We use this data as it is the lowest geographical level possible to enable accurate assumptions to be made.
We have carried out broad assessments of the need for affordable housing based on the ratio of housing costs to earnings and this has helped inform how we suggest to split the council into zones, each having a different policy requiring for the percentages of affordable housing on development sites. We have also undertaken some analysis of our need for the tenure of affordable housing. This work looked into what Dorset residents could afford compared to the costs to either purchase or rent homes in the Dorset Council area. It showed that although some residents could afford to purchase homes, there are a proportion who cannot. The needs of this group are met through affordable rental products including social rental homes. The proposals are in Chapter 4 of the plan.
For the Dorchester area, affordable housing would be sought on sites of 10 or more homes. We are proposing to require between 30% and 40% of the homes to fall within the affordable housing definition. Of those, we would expect 30% to be provided as affordable home ownership, 40% to be provided as affordable rentals and 30% to be provided as social rented housing.
We have commissioned experts to delve further into this topic. Once this work is complete, it will be published and we will adjust our proposals accordingly also taking into account the comments received as part of this consultation.
Question
Why develop land north of Dorchester, and not other land surrounding the town?
Answer
Dorchester is one of the largest and most important towns in the plan area. Back in the 1980s the decision was made that its future growth would take place at Poundbury, but this development is coming towards the end now, and we need to look at where the town can grow in the future.
We looked at options all around the town, taking account of all the significant environmental and heritage constraints. Land to the south and west of the town is within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Land to the south-east has been considered previously. But it has limited capacity once the heritage considerations have been addressed. And land to the east has archaeological and heritage constraints. While the land to the north has landscape and heritage constraints, the work that we have done so far suggests that development could take place while continuing to protect these interests.
But we are of course only at a consultation stage right now, and we will be considering all the comments we receive before making final decisions.
Question
What infrastructure would be provided as part of the north of Dorchester development?
Answer
Development at this scale will need a lot of new infrastructure. But it should also be able to fund a significant amount of it. The plan proposes that there would be new schools at all levels, new healthcare provision, and local shops. There would be a new road link between the A35 and A37, other road improvements in the surrounding area, and new pedestrian and cycle links into the town centre. We are also proposing ‘green infrastructure’ including play areas, tree planting, and a nature reserve in the water meadows.
Question
The Halcrow Report was used as the reason why development north of Dorchester was not included in the 2015 West Dorset Local Plan. The draft Dorset Council Local Plan does not mention the word Halcrow at all. Have all the problems highlighted in the Halcrow report been resolved?
Answer
The 2008 Halcrow report was produced under a very different economic context and further work is needed to assess current viability.
Early work to start a more detailed viability assessment for the whole local plan is being undertaken. More detailed viability work will take place over coming months to fully understand the viability implications of the policies within the local plan for development across Dorset.
The Garden Community programme includes a range of support for local authorities to evaluate proposals for large scale developments. This includes support for evidence studies to evaluate a site’s deliverability including viability, through to support across government bodies to help unblock issues that arise.
The movement strategy proposed within the plan seeks to maximise walking and cycling opportunities alongside the provision of facilities within the development. This will help to minimise the reliance on car travel and make everyday trips shorter and more sustainable. It should also be noted that the road link now proposed is not the full bypass being considered in the Halcrow report, but a link road of an appropriate scale to run through a residential area.
Weymouth
Question
The various sustainability documents discuss areas such as WEY G and WEY-2. These are land areas on or surrounding the Wyke Oliver Farm site. Following the consultation exercise in 2018 there were significant objections to this area being developed across all the criteria the Council then consulted on. Can you please confirm in this webinar that the WEY G or WEY-2 sites are no longer being considered for any form of development?
Answer
Land at Wyke Oliver Farm has previously been identified as a proposed location for new homes in consultations relating to the review of the West Dorset and Weymouth & Portland Local Plan. We are not proposing that homes should be delivered on the land at Wyke Oliver Farm in the Dorset Council Local Plan. You can find full details of the proposed sites for new homes in Weymouth, and other planning policies relating to the town (including the Lorton Valley Nature Park), in Section 24 of the draft local plan.
Question
What are you doing about flooding in Weymouth town centre?
Answer
At present around 440 properties are at risk of flooding in Weymouth from a 1 in 200 year event, and this could rise to over 2,000 by 2120. The council has developed a strategy which seeks to provide protection from coastal flooding and erosion to a 1 in 200 year standard until 2120 taking into account the likely effects of climate change. Protection is likely to be provided by a number of different measures including replacing and enhancing sections of the defences to manage the risks from flooding and coastal erosion. These works will be phased over a number of years between 2020 and 2060 providing the necessary flexibility to respond to the uncertainties around climate change. The works to improve flood and coastal erosion defences are outlined in a Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy, which can be found on the council’s website.
Portland
Question
Why are no more houses proposed on Portland?
Answer
We consider that the environmental constraints effecting Portland mean that further major housing development on the Island would be unsustainable, and potentially detrimental to its protected habitats, heritage, and landscape interests.
Instead, the Draft Local Plan seeks to maintain the Island’s unique character, through:
- maintaining its status as a key location for employment and maritime industry;
- promoting sustainable tourism on the Island through the potential extension of the existing Portland Quarries Nature Park, and supporting opportunities based around outdoor activities; and
- helping to support regeneration projects that benefit the Island’s population and seek to address issues around multiple-deprivation.
Chickerell
Question
Chickerell needs a healthcare facility, will one be provided?
Answer
As set out in proposed policy CHIC2 of the Plan: Land at Willowbed Hall is considered to have potential for development as a health centre, as an originally allocated site in the Putton Lane development is now considered to be too small. Development for the site for this purpose would need to meet the requirements of policies within the plan on the provision of community buildings (policy COM2), and where relevant, on the loss of open space or recreational facilities (policy COM4).
Crossways and Moreton Station
Question
The proposed development of Redbridge Pit/Moreton Station is not within or adjacent to a settlement boundary. The site is in fact a greenfield site in open country. Why is this site allocated in the Dorset Council Local Plan?
Answer
Policies within the plan identify the Crossways / Moreton Station area as a location for growth with detailed policies appearing in Section 27 of the Plan. The settlement of Moreton Station comprises a small collection of houses that have been developed around the railway station and is considered to have a distinct identity separate from but functionally linked to the more modern development at Crossways. Through the Local Plan development boundaries are amended to enable development to meet the needs of Dorset in the most sustainable way. The existing settlement boundary is therefore not a constraint for future Plan making.
There is insufficient brownfield land in Dorset to meet the full development needs of the area and as such green field sites are identified for development in the local plan. The green field sites are selected in close proximity to existing settlements to minimise the need to travel to access everyday services and facilities. Within development site policies, mitigation is set out in order to minimise any impact.
Question
The smallest settlement (Crossways) in the Central Area has the largest housing percentage increase in the Central Area. How is this compatible with the settlement hierarchy?
Answer
The allocation of development at each settlement is not reflective of the current size of a settlement but based on constraints, the accessibility to facilities and jobs and the availability of developable sites.