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Dorset CPRE’s Response to Dorset Council Local Plan Consultation 2025

21 October 2025

As you may be aware, in August 2025, Dorset Council launched a consultation on the Local Plan which will underpin future housing and development for 17 years from 2026 to 2043. Dorset Council (DC) and its Ward Councillors called on residents, town and parish councils and local societies to “have your say” by responding to the consultation which now closes on the 31st October.

There is still time to respond before the extended deadline of 31st October. You can respond by email to planningpolicyconsult@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk as well as via the DC website. Please respond if you haven’t had time to do so and, if you’ve already responded, consider if there are additional comments you’d like to make.

Dorset CPRE welcomes the opportunity to respond to this important consultation and looks forward to continuing to work constructively as a key stakeholder concerned with protecting and enhancing the Dorset countryside and helping our communities to thrive.

While Dorset Council’s Vision and Strategic Priorities must sit within the framework of national planning policy, Dorset CPRE believes it is essential that the Local Plan be realistic, deliverable and sound. Dorset needs a Local Plan that identifies appropriate locations for new housing and employment while reflecting the county’s unique environmental, landscape, and infrastructure constraints. Such a plan must meet the genuine, evidenced housing needs of Dorset’s communities—not arbitrary central targets—while protecting the rural character, natural beauty, and biodiversity that define the county.

Dorset CPRE commissioned expert local planning consultant, Jo Witherden, to review some of the Council’s proposed development sites. Her report forms part of a suite of inputs to Dorset Council. It is complemented by and should be read alongside the responses, drawing on local knowledge and experience, submitted by Dorset CPRE members and area groups, as well as those by local councils, communities and individuals.

A copy of the Dorset CPRE response is available on our Resources webpage including Jo Witherden’s report.

 

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