VILLAGERS are preparing to stand up and fight plans for a 15-home development in their community.

Puddletown residents are outraged by plans for the housing development, which they claim is out of character and will cause traffic chaos in the village.

The parish council has already voiced its objections to the development on land south of the High Street and over 80 comments – mostly objections – have been registered on the planning application submitted by Wyatt Homes.

Now representatives of the local community are preparing to speak out when the application is debated at West Dorset District Council’s development control committee on Thursday.

A report by the authority’s planning committee has recommended councillors delegate powers to officers to approve the scheme – subject to a number of conditions, including a section 106 agreement to secure funding from the developers for public open spaces. Villager Ann Soderberg has written to local MP Oliver Letwin and Liberal Democrat election candidate Sue Farrant asking for support for their opposition to the scheme.

She said: “There are so many issues with the whole thing, it’s mostly about access.

“Currently there is a tiny little farm track that goes up to two houses. They want to put another 15 houses up there and it’s going to have a huge effect on traffic in the High Street.”

Landscape architect Miss Soderberg, who lives in the High Street, added: “We have had developments in the village over the past 10 years or so and every time it has had a huge impact.

“It’s not ‘nimbyism’, we aren’t complaining about the fact they are building – it’s just completely out of place in Puddletown.”

Miss Soderberg said villagers have held a meeting to discuss their opposition to the plans and five or six of them will be speaking the council meeting this week.

Miss Soberberg’s neighbour the Reverend Roy Bennett, 69, said: “We are concerned about how people can get in and out, particularly onto a busy High Street.

“It is what we would refer to as an urban development rather than a village development.”

Nobody from developers Wyatt Homes was available to comment.