A NEW village hall could be delivered as part of a proposed housing development at Charminster.

Wyatt Homes has been consulting with local residents to see what they want included in a scheme to develop land at Charminster Farm.

The developers are looking to build 70 homes on site but are also keen to provide a range of community facilities to meet the village’s needs.

As well as the village hall with 30 dedicated parking spaces, the scheme could include a village green, tennis court and a turning area for parents dropping their parents off at St Mary’s School to ease congestion on surrounding roads.

The latest proposals were set out at a public exhibition at the existing village hall.

David Wyatt, of Wyatt Homes, said that his firm had been keen to engage with the parish council and local community as it draws up plans for the site.

He said: “I think the majority of people are supportive of it and can see it is an asset going forward for many years.

“The main things we are trying to create with this are traffic calming coming into the village, improving car parking facilities, providing a village hall with parking, a village green and a mixed scheme with affordable housing and such like.”

Andy Ward of NEW masterplanning, which is working on architecture and landscaping, said the scheme will include housing from flats for key workers to four-bedroom houses.

He said that it was hoped a planning application could be submitted this summer and if successful work could start in around 12 to 18 months’ time.

Mr Ward said the current phase was all about working with the community so they had input into the scheme at an early stage.

He said: “It’s exciting. Getting involved with the public at an early stage has been brilliant.”

One local resident viewing the exhibition, who asked not to be named, said he was pleased to see the new village hall being proposed and was happy with the scheme as it was currently being put forward.

He said his only concern would be if the scheme were to increase in size, fearing it could set a precedent for extending the boundary of the village. He said: “I’m supportive of something if this size but I don’t think I would be too comfortable if it grew any larger.”