I am opposed to the building of mass developments in West Dorset, such as 'Norchester' - the 4000 houses planned for the outskirts of Dorchester.
On 8th July 2020 I made a speech in the House of Commons on West Dorset's economy, in response to the Chancellor's earlier statement. On local housing, in particular the proposed 'Norchester' development to the north of Dorchester, I was clear that rural economies are not well served by building enormous new housing developments such as these, which only quash the economic potential of building modest numbers of new houses in our villages.
In October 2020, I condemned the proposed Norchester development when writing to constituents through my In Touch newsletter which was distributed across Dorchester; and I have shared my view on this in various local press columns.
I support the work of Save the Area North of Dorchester (STAND for Dorchester), the group of local people campaigning against the proposal to build over 4000 houses on countryside to the north of Dorchester. There are a number of grounds for objecting to this development, and I have have shared this statement with the organisation:
“The building of 4,000 houses to the north of Dorchester would ruin acres of beautiful West Dorset countryside and irreversibly change the character of our historic county town. A mass development of thousands of houses is completely unnecessary at a time when our small villages need modest, sustainable house building, particularly to provide for local people and key workers.
New homes in West Dorset should enrich our local communities – providing local homes and securing the future of our village schools, shops, garages, and churches – rather than fuelling evermore urban sprawl and lining the pockets of large corporate developers”
What can you do?
Please support the local campaign against this development at www.stand-dorchester.net
Learn more about the key objections to the development in terms of the impact on residents of Dorchester; on housing, travel links, the environment, heritage and tourism.
Read the Local Plan for Dorset and the impact on this in particular for Dorchester
Share your view
Local Plan: Take part in the consultation on Dorset Council's Local Plan. It is open between 18th January - 15th March and your view counts
Online Consultation: This link will take you straight to the online consultation: www.dorset-self.achieveservice.com/service/DCLP
Get involved: There are a number of events, webinars and podcasts in which you can take part: CLICK HERE for more information
Contact me: Share you view with me on the proposed Norchester development via my contact form
Dorchester survey: Complete my survey on any issue affecting you as a resident of Dorchester, at: www.chrisloder.co.uk/dorchestersurvey
