Dorset plans set to advance

Plans for a job-creating residential scheme lined up for a site in Dorset look set to move ahead next week.The 14.6-acre site comprises the major part of a pastoral field on the northern edge of the settlement of Shaftesbury, to the south east of Wincombe Business Park.Lined up for the huge plot are 162 homes, comprising six one-beds, 46 two-beds, 80 three-beds and 30 four-beds.Of this total, 48 would be affordable, while a host of greenspace is also lined up.David Wilson Homes is behind the proposals.A report drawn up ahead of Dorset Council’s planning committee meeting on 11 January noted that if backed, the proposals would support local jobs in the construction sector and bring about added value in the area through associated spending and economic activity.It would also contribute to the five-year housing land supply, with the area having an “identified lack of supply”.”The tilted balance is therefore engaged, meaning that permission should be granted unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.”Approval has been recommended.