The final details of a 100-home development at Beaminster have been approved by Dorset Council planners after two years of negotiations.

Cavanna Homes, who will build the extension to the town off Broadwindsor Road, describe it as a “characterful, interesting scheme which creates a sense of place.”

The development includes electric vehicle charging points and solar panels for most of the properties with 35% of the scheme ‘affordable’ homes. A village green, ponds and play areas will also be built.

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A similar size housing scheme on an adjoining site to the north east is awaiting a planning decision.

Dorset Council’s area planning committee approved the final details

The Cavanna application, north of the Broadwindsor Road, at the west end of Beaminster was given ‘in principal’ agreement in November 2019.

The development will have a mix of styles and layouts ranging from one-bed apartments to four-bed homes for both open market sales and affordable properties.

Road access to the site, which is all within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, will be from a new roundabout opposite the entrance to Buglers agricultural equipment suppliers. A pedestrian path will be provided from the south-east corner of the site along the north side of the road to link with the existing footway just to the east adjacent to St James.

An informal green space and an attenuation pond will be built to the east of the site and a ‘village green’ further west. In all just under 0.6 hectare is proposed as public open space.

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Beaminster Town Council had welcomed the idea of developing the site but initially raised concerns about some aspects including parking and the location of attenuation ponds.

The Beaminster Society had called for a higher proportion of affordable homes as well as some properties where people can work from home.

Wessex Water will now negotiate with the company for what it describes as a ‘robust’ strategy for dealing with sewage and surface water from the site with a new sewer proposed running east into Broadwindsor Road and St James.

Wessex Water say some capacity improvement works may need to be undertaken on its network in the area to deal with the extra homes.

Illustration – Site layout, showing proposed development to north of the site

Location map