Residents will find out tomorrow whether hundreds of homes will be built near their rural community in Weymouth.

Outline planning permission for 340 homes south of Nottington Lane and behind Dorchester Road is being recommended for approval, subject to conditions, at a meeting tomorrow.

This is developer CG Fry’s second attempt at securing planning permission for the controversial homes plan, which has sparked flooding and traffic fears in Nottington.

There would be road access onto both Nottington Lane and Dorchester Road near Redlands.

Last year, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s planning committee went against officers’ recommendations and rejected the scheme, prompting the applicant to launch an appeal. An inquiry is due to be heard this summer.

In the meantime, Fry’s is seeking permission from the council for a very similar scheme it lodged in spring of this year in the hope it will get backing and the costly planning appeal is avoided.

Residents have expressed renewed concerns about the plan, citing flooding problems in the village, extra traffic generated from the scheme, loss of nature habitat and pressure on local services.

A number of people are expected to attend the planning committee meeting at the Weymouth Pavilion Ocean Room to have their say.

But the committee will be urged to back the scheme, and be reminded that the original reasons for refusing the scheme cannot be defended.

The 16 hectare site which is made up of agricultural land is allocated in the local plan for housing so the council believes the site is acceptable for residential development. And there are no major objections from the relevant authorities.

A report to the committee states the proposal “undoubtedly represents an opportunity to provide housing, both open market and affordable, sitting largely within an allocated site for development”.

It adds the scheme is not in an area at risk of flooding and the development follows the principles of national guidance and local policy to steer development to areas with the lowest probability of flooding. 

The information submitted with the application demonstrates that through a series of proposed measures within the site, surface water run-off rates will be substantially reduced.

Councillors will also be told information in a transport assessment submitted with the application assesses the existing traffic movements and clarifies the predicted traffic levels generated by the development. It demonstrates the predicted increase in traffic can be “adequately accommodated on the surrounding highway network”.

Councillors will be urged to back the scheme subject to a section 106 agreement to secure from the developer 35 per cent affordable housing at the site, an area of public open space of not less than 5 hectares and 1,000 square metres of defined/equipped natural area for play and four smaller play spaces.

The planning committee meeting will be held in the Ocean Room in Weymouth Pavilion at 9am tomorrow.