300-home Poole scheme set for green light

More than 300 homes could be built on a green belt site in Poole with plans for the development recommended for approval at a council meeting later this week (27 July).Housebuilders Barratt and David Wilson Homes have lodged plans for land off Magna Road. The site is located within the green belt and was previously occupied by a golf club.A total of 324 residential properties are proposed, with 249 houses and 75 flats. Forty per cent of the scheme would be affordable housing, with a mix of starter homes and properties for shared rent and affordable ownership.A suitable alternative natural greenspace (SANG) measuring about 35 acres will be created to the North of Magna Road.The application will be considered by Borough of Poole Council’s planning committee on 27 July, and is recommended for approval in a report from the planning officer.This is subject to conditions including the signing of a section 106 agreement that would secure a financial consideration of more than £100,000 for the strategic access, monitoring and management of Dorset Heathlands.The recommendation has been made despite objections from the likes of Natural England, the RSPB and bus operator Go South Coast.A second application, to be conserved at a later date, has also been submitted for the construction of 170,000 sq ft of employment floorspace on an adjacent site, using the same Magna Road access.