DEVELOPERS of a site at the heart of Dorchester are to conduct a public survey in the new year.

Mark Lewis, development director of Simons - picked as the company to develop the Charles Street site - said a telephone survey would begin in January.

He said: "About 2,000 people will be contacted by phone for a carefully constructed survey as part of a database we're gathering. We're undertaking an extensive consultation. It's important that we get the views of the silent majority and not just the vociferous minority."

Mr Lewis, in Dorchester for a familiarisation visit with a team of key people, said: "We're doing a huge amount of technical investigations on the site.

"That will probably come to fruition in March. At this stage we haven't got anything to show but we're doing a lot of work."

He said it was too early to present a timescale for the work but believed the development could be finished by 2011.

He said: "We want to be finished before the Olympics and I hope it will open in 2011.

"It's hard to tell with a site like this but it's about a two-and-a-half-year build. That depends on many things like the archaeology."

Mr Lewis said archaeology on the site was one area that Simons was focusing on at an early stage.

He added: "We've got a lot of experience working on sensitive sites including in Lincoln, where we are based. And we've done a lot of work with local authorities particularly in small cities and historic market towns."

Simons, chosen by West Dorset District Council to bring the Charles Street site into reality after several false starts in the past 20 years, is due to start schemes in Carmarthen and Witney next year. The company is also working on a scheme in Truro.

Paul Burley, a partner in Montagu Evans chartered surveyors, said the phone survey would be used to build a picture of how and why people shop in Dorchester.

He said: "This development doesn't want to harm existing businesses. Surveys will tell us a lot about aspects such as where people come from and how they get here so that we can understand their parking needs. And it will tell us why people don't shop in Dorchester."

Mr Lewis said Simons would shortly be constructing a website and people would be able to contact the company through that.

He said he was also aware that people could be concerned about the loss of parking on site while building work goes on. He added: "We're working closely with the council about that. There are a lot of options that could deal with it. It's vital to ensure that car-parking works during the building work and when it's finished."

Town crier Alistair Chisholm led the group on a tour of Dorchester to tell them about some of the town's history and landmarks.

He said: "Of course they know a lot about the site and the town but it's a fascinating place with a lot of history and it's good that they want to know about all that at the beginning of this project."