The North Dorset Local Plan Examination moved on a step with
the publication of the District Council’s responses to some of the issues
raised at the examination hearings. Of
particular note is the change in the plan period to 2031 and the proposed
retention of the settlement boundaries and higher housing target for Stalbridge
and the larger villages. Care homes and
neighbourhood plans also feature in the updated supply numbers. The housing targets will now expressed as a
minimum, the reference to prioritising 2 and 3 bed house sizes for open market
houses is to be removed.
Only invited participants can comment at this stage, but there
will be a chance to comment on all the major changes at a later stage.If you want to find out more it is worth checking out the following links
MHD006:
recommends extending the plan period to 2031, and increasing the housing target
to 285dpa (dwellings per annum). It also
says that provision will be made for an early plan review to incorporate new
emerging evidence on housing needs in conjunction with other Dorset
authorities.
MHD007:
recommends retaining settlement boundaries around Stalbridge and the more
sustainable villages (Bourton, Charlton Marshall, Child Okeford, East Stour,
Fontmell Magna, Hazelbury Bryan, Iwerne Minster, Marnhull, Milborne St Andrew,
Milton Abbas, Motcombe, Okeford Fitzpaine, Pimperne, Shillingstone, Stourpaine,
Winterborne Kingston, Winterborne Stickland and Winterborne Whitechurch), and
that between them these provide 41dpa (dwellings per annum). No change is made for rural employment
provision.
MHD008:
proposes including care homes (C2 use class) in the housing supply. It also revises some of the start dates and
capacities of specific sites based on landowner updates, and refers to 42
housing sites ‘identified in Neighbourhood Plans’.
MHD018:
sets out a range of proposed changes that arose during the hearing
sessions. This includes changes to the
policy wording of (take a deep breath here) Policies 3 (Climate Change), 6 (Housing Distribution), 7
(Delivering Homes), 9 (Affordable Housing), 11 (The Economy), 13 (Grey
Infrastructure), 15 (Green Infrastructure), 16 (Blandford), 17 (Gillingham), 18
(Shaftesbury), 19 (Sturminster Newton), 21 (Gillingham Strategic Site
Allocation), 24 (Design), 27 (Retention of Community Facilities), 30 (Existing
Employment Sites in the Countryside) and 32 (Equine-Related Developments in the
Countryside). All the documents can be found here.
