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Dorset CPRE Welcome New Local Plan Initiative from Dorset Council Leader

Rolling downland in the parish of Pimperne Rolling downland in the parish of Pimperne

28th January 2022

PR-4Dorset CPRE welcome yesterday’s statement from Councillor Spencer Flower as it shows a willingness to develop a Local Plan more suited to Dorset and its residents. 

Press release

Councillor Flower asserts that "the current National Planning Framework is not providing councils with the means to promote sustainable development through their Local Plans but is instead about chasing government housing targets".

Previously Dorset CPRE stated that the Dorset Local Plan is being developed too quickly and without an adequate evidence base. It deplored the lack of any meaningful engagement in the creation of a shared vision for the Dorset Local Plan. Such a vision should be its bedrock.

Peter Bowyer, Chair of the Trustees of Dorset CPRE said:

“We now hope that following Councillor Spencer Flower’s statement that there will be positive dialogues with community organisations and residents in Dorset to arrive at a housing figure of closer to 22,000 up to 2038, adequate provision of affordable/social housing, and compatibility of the Dorset Local Plan with actions to address the Climate and Ecological Emergencies.

We look forward to the outcome of communications between the Secretary of State and Dorset Council, and welcome the opportunity for an extension of the Local Plan period, as well as the potential development of a new approach to Local Plans that reflects the needs of the residents of Dorset.

Any efforts to re-think the Dorset Local Plan will be supported by CPRE, but only if revisions reflect the real needs of the residents in Dorset and the exceptional environmental circumstances of the county. Dorset deserves better than what has been proposed to us to date”.

 

 

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