Developers in charge of a 760-home scheme in Bridport were quizzed by residents on plans, some of which could change the face of the area for good.

As well as hundreds of new homes, proposals also include a new roundabout on the busy A35 Miles Cross junction, primary school, employment space, retail facilities, care home, public open space and cycling and walking zones.

The greenbelt site – known as Vearse Farm – is located on the western edge of Bridport and has been highly controversial with locals for some time.

Plans were approved in principle back in August 2022 but there has been limited activity on site since, with the developers getting off to a rocky start by cutting down an ancient hedgerow they did not own in November.

The development, called Foundry Lea, involves three different developers – Barratt Homes, Vistry Group and David Wilson Homes.

Bridport Town Hall was opened up for them to display information boards providing updates on their plans on Wednesday, March 1.

Locals who made the visit were mixed in their opinions of the scheme, with one who lives in nearby North Allington saying the influx in residents would turn the west Dorset town into ‘Oxford Street’.

She also labelled the look of the new homes as ‘unimaginative’ and ‘uninspiring’ and feared for Bridport’s road network during the busy summer tourist season.

Patrick Lilleyman, who lives in East Street, added that the development would ‘overwhelm’ the market town.

“It is not addressing what the people of Bridport want – it is such a huge thing and there is not a need for that kind of housing in Bridport,” he said. “I would like to see more social housing.”

Questions were also asked about whether young people would be able to afford the 266 affordable homes proposed, and where the potential occupants would work.

Developers were quizzed at length with interested Bridport locals at Wednesday’s event and hope to start work in either the summer or autumn this year.

They claim that green spaces and sustainability are ‘paramount’ in the plans, and have promised to build homes for animals such as bats, otters, birds, bees and dormice within the scheme.

Meanwhile, the destroyed vegetation will be replaced with 26 native trees, hedgerow and woodland coppice.

The potential new care home, employment space and primary school are being delivered by third parties, not the developers.

Builders do intend to submit a new reserved matters application with some ‘minor changes’ to the plans ‘in the near future’.

They say this is because of factors such as ‘the changing housing market’ and to ‘advance the delivery of affordable homes’ - with alterations including different housing types and sizes.

On the long-awaited new A35 roundabout, which has been in the pipeline for years, developers are in talks with both National Highways and Dorset Council about making the highway improvement works to cope with the added traffic.

Bridport residents largely welcomed the improved safety plans at Miles Cross, which has been the location of some fatal collisions in the past. 

As part of planning approval, builders have been told that no part of the development can start until a detailed scheme for the new junction has been approved by the council.

They say a ‘detailed design is presently underway’ and hope to obtain technical approval in spring this year, while a submission of the plans to Dorset Council will follow some weeks later.

“The site lies within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and so the development has been carefully designed to ensure that in fits in with the special character of the local area,” developers said.

“A full study was undertaken to look into features that are common on the local houses, such as door surrounds, brick arches, bay windows and chimneys.

“The houses have then been designed to include these features wherever possible, helping to bring the character of Bridport into the new development.”

Presentation slides from the town hall event, and more information on the development, can be viewed online by visiting https://www.foundrylea.co.uk/planning/#meetthebuilder