MEMBERS of Charminster Parish Council have voted unanimously to support plans for a new village hall as part of a 70-home development. The development, which would be situated on land at Charminster Farm, has been under discussion for a number of months.

As well as houses, Wyatt Homes has proposed to build a new village hall with 30 parking spaces, a village green, tennis court, and turning area for parents dropping off children at school.

The Echo reported in August that an argument had broken out between parish councillors and village hall trustees over the plans. The motion, however, was fully supported at an extraordinary meeting called on Tuesday, subject to a few conditions.

The meeting was attended by a dozen or so residents, who had the chance to raise any concerns with councillors and developers.

Speaking to the audience, chairman of Charminster Parish Council Mark Simons said: “It’s a scheme that brings a lot of benefits. It brings a significant proportion of affordable housing. It brings a car park to the school, it brings a footway to the school and it brings some highway improvements to Weir View.

“On the downside it will bring a certain amount of traffic.”

One audience member raised concerns about the amount of affordable housing.

Cllr Simons responded by saying: “We would like to see shared equity housing as much as possible. The district planning officer agreed we could be involved in discussions where that balance is needed.”

Charminster Parish Council distributed a survey to gain residents’ views on the plans.

Cllr Simons said they had received 196 responses, representing a 20 per cent turnout, and the majority of responses, 146, back-ed the scheme, which included the new village hall concept.

Another scheme on the table didn’t include the new village hall. This was voted for by 40 people, whilst 10 people voted for neither scheme.

Matt Shellum, from planning at Wyatt Homes, said there would be a section 106 order that would mean only a certain amount of residential units could be occupied before the hall was delivered.

He said: “We could build other houses but we wouldn’t have those occupied until the hall is provided for.”

The council unanimously agreed to support the application, subject to the section 106 agreement and having the maximum amount of parking to meet the hall’s need. Members also requested a high proportion of affordable housing to be available, with priority given to those who have connections to Charminster.

Final approval for outline planning permission is required from West Dorset District Council.

People are still able to make comments about the application via www.dorsetforyou.com/plan ning/west-dorset until the deadline of Wednesday, December 24.