A UNANIMOUS planning committee decision has rejected a housing association proposal for 91 homes near the former Value House site on the edge of Weymouth.

East Boro Housing Trust had wanted to build two, three and four-bed homes on a green field site east of Mandeville Road, half of them ‘affordable’. The site lies within the West Dorset area.

Local councillor Jean Dunseith told Thursday’s district planning committee that Chickerell parish council were against building on the prominent site, partially because it was outside of the defined development boundary.

She said that she shared the concern but was also worried about the effect on wildlife and the increased traffic the scheme would bring to the area.

“This is contrary to the Local Plan and would have an impact on a World Heritage site, spoiling the open nature of the site with its views,” she said, “This development is simply in the wrong place.”

Cllr Ian Gardner, who chairs the local neighbourhood plan group, said its members had not endorsed the site as one for development although he admitted that other schemes, already agreed for the area, would partially mask the site from the South West Coast Path.

He said there were concerns that it would ‘close the gap’ between Chickerell and Wyke Regis and add to local traffic levels.

Natural England say the site provides an important green corridor between the Chesil Beach and Fleet and the Little Francis nature reserve.

More than 70 letters to the planning committee mostly argued against building homes on the site with the Landscape Officer saying any buildings would be ‘visually prominent’.

The committee rejected the scheme because of the effect it would have on the Heritage Coast and the impact on the biodiversity of the area.