NEW building work in parts of Dorset which drain into Poole Harbour could be more difficult to approve with new environmental standards.

There are fear that if Natural England guidelines are strictly enforced it could result in parts of Dorset not being able to meet future housing demand.

Many areas are now close to achieving the Government’s five-year housing supply target which, once achieved, offers more protection from speculative development on sites identified in neighbourhood plans and the Dorset Local Plan.

Dorchester town councillor Alistair Chisholm says a report published in June, concluded that because of the guidance from Natural England over nutrient neutrality for nitrogen and phosphorous, no new developments in the Poole Harbour watershed, which are not yet started, can be included in the five-year housing supply figures.

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Cllr Chisholm said that the result may be that Dorset Council is unable to identify a deliverable housing supply for the current plan period until 2026 for Purbeck and may find itself in a similar position elsewhere in the county where there are rivers and streams which drain towards Poole Harbour.

He believes it could have an impact on the controversial proposals for 4,000 homes north of Dorchester, parts of which, if approved, could be built alongside a river and water meadows.

There has been a long campaign against the project locally which has led to several mass protests, a petition and a series of objections in the consultation over the revised Local Plan.

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Dorset Council is using £135,000 of grant money to assess the area as a possible ‘garden community’. It has yet to be decided if the Dorchester North scheme will be included in the emerging revised Local Plan which is expected to be published in the autumn, prompting another round of public consultation.

Cabinet member for planning, David Walsh, said Dorset Council has yet to assess the implications of the Natural England guidance and what it might mean for planning applications.

“In the case of Poole Harbour catchment and the Purbeck Local Plan, Dorset Council is awaiting clarification from Natural England on the degree to which current nutrient mitigation measures secure nutrient neutrality for both nitrogen and phosphorus. Dorset Council will provide updates to its evidence and understanding of the issue as and when it has further information to publish,” he said.