“Come and hear about the Local Plan,” they said. “At last!” I thought. Now I can deal with the good, the bad and the frankly ugly news following the Government’s directive on planning and its impact on my patch in Dorset.
A crowd of councillors piled into Dorchester to hear the news from the council staff. What is the collective noun for a group of parish councillors?
(A wrangle? A mutter? A grievance? – Ed)
We have all been waiting for information: parishes need to manage the impact of yet more houses on top of what they have already agreed.
I think it’s fair to say that every single councillor in the hall was waiting to find out exactly how the plans would impact their area – parish councillors will have to manage the news. Immediately, the entire presentation felt like a ‘slopey shoulders and hands-tied-behind-backs’ job. From the start, Dorset Council said it wanted our help with the consultation. Hard when you don’t have the details.
Most people are aware that the housing targets have doubled under the Labour government. Where Dorset’s obligation was to build 1,700 homes a year, that has increased to 3,283 annually. Where there were plans for 25,000 houses – which seems enormous – there’s a gap, and a further 25,000 need to be planned into the system to make 50,000 additional units in the county by 2040. Already, many of us turn a corner on a familiar road to be faced with unexpected concrete and building sites springing up in the countryside.
Well, it’s about to get far worse.
While brownfield sites will still be prioritised, there’s now a ‘grey belt’ in addition to green belt. A map was flashed on the screen to demonstrate.
Why are we looking at Bournemouth?
As I squinted to read the small print on the map, I assumed the coastal part was Weymouth and tried to work out whether any grey belt had infiltrated my patch. But it wasn’t Weymouth.
We were looking at a map of Bournemouth – which isn’t even part of Dorset Council! About as much use as a chocolate teapot to parish councillors wanting to know how the new plan will impact their small, rural villages and towns which are already creaking at the seams. Because that’s what our residents will ask: every councillor knows at least six people in every parish who will pull the plans apart and challenge every sentence. And that’s not a bad thing.
We councillors need the answers for them, and we don’t have those answers right now. Frustrated, the questions came flying. Where was the infrastructure to support this? The gradient on those slopey shoulders promptly got significantly steeper.
What we all want to see is an improved road structure, especially in rural areas. We want confirmation there will be adequate school places – the scale of these builds requires several additional classrooms, possibly a new school. And we want social and affordable homes to be finished on time so people on the local housing register can get somewhere to live.
However, what we’re likely to get is the odd bat box, a wildflower verge and a sand pit. Infrastructure was “a grey area” – a bit like the nebulous grey belt.
What we really need
The Plan includes “reducing the use of cars in Dorset”. Green policy is admirable, but we need a significant improvement to public transport, especially for rural villages, for this to happen. A bus once a week to Dorchester is inadequate for the working population who don’t drive.
For those wanting to get people to cycle more, just try cycling home from work on the A3030 in the dark in winter. Then you’ll have a better idea of why people commute by car.
It is clear that every town and village across the county will need to take more houses, on top of what are already planned. We asked for local builders to be prioritised – there are excellent companies in Dorset who produce quality homes. However, “there has to be a mix” (says the Government) … which means the big boys with the cardboard cut-out monstrosities will be circling.
While green fields will inevitably be lost, there was noticeably little mention of food security, despite agriculture being such a massive part of the Dorset economy. The council’s declared ‘nature emergency’ appears to have conveniently disappeared as well.
Many parishes already have neighbourhood plans, but these will need revising to deal with the grey belt and the new target.
However … there comes a point when housing increases to such an extent that it transforms the entire character of a community. Perhaps that’s what we should focus on developing? Instead of pandering to the government’s diktat on housing tick boxes, what we need to do is demand better infrastructure and work on strengthening the wonderful communities we have already. Rural Dorset thrives on volunteers, on innovation and on having good neighbours. More than ever before, we need to work together as a strong community to retain the very best of living in Dorset.
The Dorset Local Plan will be available for public consultation from 15th August. I urge you to read it, and to add your opinions.
**The Dorset Insider is a no-holds-barred column pulling back the curtain on local affairs with sharp insight, unfiltered honesty and the occasional raised eyebrow. Written by a seasoned parish councillor who prefers to remain anonymous (for obvious reasons), it cuts through the noise to expose the frustrations of grassroots politics, and say what others won’t. Rest assured, their identity is known – and trusted – by the editorial team. Expect opinion, candour and a healthy dose of exasperation …**
