Mixed-use Dorset development to go before committee

Plans to bring forward a major mixed-use development in Dorset on the former QinetiQ employment site are set to go before committee later this week.The application concerns an 11.8-acre site to the south-east of Weymouth town centre.The site previously included several buildings associated with the former QinetiQ operation.Apart from a small single-storey brick site at the entrance, all buildings associated with the former employment use have been demolished and the plot is currently vacant.Proposed are outline plans for a major mixed-use scheme on the site, with the plans amended over the course of their determination.Lined up are up to 141 homes, a 60-bed care home, leisure space comprising a gym, swimming pool and spa, up to 12,766 sq ft of office space, a restaurant, and various open space and public realm works.The tallest of the new buildings would be apartment block 1A, which would stand between five and six storeys in height.The scheme has been subjected to 74 objections against three comments of support, with the concerns raised including:• the site not being a “suitable location” for large-scale development• the plot “should be developed” for employment uses• there being “no need” for another care homeHowever, a report drawn up ahead of Dorset Council’s planning committee meeting on 7 September notes that the project’s benefits are “considerable and considered to outweigh the adverse landscape and visual impacts of the proposal”.As such, approval has been recommended.