SIX small homes on an ‘untidy site’ off Dorchester Road, Weymouth are to be allowed.

The proposal, which includes the demolition some existing buildings, will see two one and a half storey houses and a terrace of four similar height homes with undercroft access to the existing Allenby Flats.

Weymouth Town Council and the town’s Civic Society had objected to the proposal, claiming it would be an overdevelopment of the site, opposite the Rembrandt Hotel, although Dorset Council’s conservation officer said it would enhance the area.

Several neighbours took a similar view saying the development would hide untidy buildings currently on the site although would also remove parking spaces.

The proposals came after controversy over a previous application which was withdrawn in 2022 and then re-submitted after being re-designed to take many of the public comments into consideration.

A planning case officer report on the latest scheme said that the most pronounced impact to neighbours, other than to Allenby Flats residents, will be the four dormer windows looking over the garden of number 55 Dorchester Road although the officer said the level of overlooking is “already considerable” and the impact will not greatly change beyond what is already there.

The latest drawings showed a reduced height and bulk of the proposed mews buildings and the removal of a previously proposed external staircase.

“As such, whilst the site will be significantly developed, it is not considered inappropriate and weighs in favour to the visual enhancement to the Lodmoor Hill Conservation Area overall and public benefit,” said the officer.

Dorset Council had been asked to decide the changes to the rear of Allenby Flats and adjoining addresses at 49 to 53 Dorchester Road. The developer behind the project, Jacobs Estates and Rental LLP, which is working with property owners, claimed the existing buildings, which front onto Park Lane, are ‘dilapidated and unsafe’.

The garages, gardens, and store areas are to the rear of the Dorchester Road properties where two 2-bed cottage style homes and a separate block of four 1-bed flats has now been approved – the development expected to start next year.