Vikki Slade MP contests new 1,200 home development in Dorset

A planning application for a new development of up to 1,200 homes in Dorset has been submitted.

As I understand it, this proposed site was not included in the Poole Local Plan and as you know, there is not yet an approved BCP Local Plan. The site is in the green belt and provides an important buffer between Bearwood and Merley and a critical green lung between the suburban areas of Bournemouth and Poole.

The ward, Bearwood and Merley has taken more than its fair share of housing in the last few years, with three major developments either completed or under construction totalling over 1600 new homes. It is inconceivable that the community should be expected to take another 1200, and the infrastructure including roads, sewerage, schools and medical services will be overwhelmed if thousands of new residents move in.

We know that many homes in the existing developments are unsold and they are out of reach of local people. This means that the suggestion they will help young people from Poole and Wimborne to get on the housing latter is unlikely to become a reality. We know that new homes are needed in Dorset for the next generation so they can stay living and working in our area, but I am concerned that these are not the right homes in the right place. More work needs to be done to bring forward development in the centre of Poole and Bournemouth where young people want to live, and to ensure that there are high quality homes for couples to move to once their children have grown up, so that the local housing market can move.

Recent legislation means that developments of more than 150 homes will not even be decided by Councillors so I am also concerned about the democratic deficit and how the concerns of local people will be heard. If new homes are to be built there must be mechanisms to prevent them being sold as second homes, community infrastructure must be built and funded in advance of new residents moving in and local people must be prioritised. The Government’s refusal of the BCP Draft Local Plan, and the further increase in new home numbers that is being forced on the area means that we are at risk of speculative development but we must ensure that speculative does not mean exploitative.

When the developer holds a consultation event I will attend to find out more about the proposals and I will work with local councillors to ensure that the existing communities in Merley and Bearwood, as well as those in Wimborne and Broadstone who are likely to see an impact in terms of GP, dentist and school places, are not negatively impacted and see some benefit from any more development in the area.