THE premature demolition of buildings on the former Qinetiq Bincleaves site off Newtons Road, Weymouth has been given permission – after most of the work has been completed.

Neighbours complained to the borough council about the noise and dust from the site and bonfires – which were not allowed, according to planning conditions.

The developers will now be told to have no more fires and to comply with conditions around the demolition of the remaining buildings and concrete slabs.

Demolition work has been carried out in preparation for the building of a care village with 195 supported living apartments, a 60 bed care home and 34 respite hotel suites.

The site will also have medical support, common rooms, leisure facilities and offices, a commercial restaurant, museum, cafe and a new promenade.

Weymouth and Portland planning committee was told on Wednesday that the retrospective permission should ‘regularise’ what has been taking place and will allow an investigation to be carried out for any possible contamination left behind from MoD use.

Permission for the site development was originally granted in August 2016. Agent for the developers Richard Burgess told councillors that much of the delay to anything happening on the site had been caused by the sale of the land taking more than a year to complete.

He also told the committee that the demolition had been welcomed by the police who have been repeatedly called to the site to deal with people who had broken in.

Neighbour Colin Munz said he and others who lived near the site wanted to see compliance with the demolition conditions which, he said, included a ban on bonfires.

Yet, he claimed, he and others had been bothered with dense smoke from the demolition area as well as persistent noise from concrete breaking machines.

He also questioned whether the site could be worked 7am to 7pm, but was told that the hours were agreed as part of the original permission.

Mr Munz said the conditions to protect residents from noise, vibration and dust should have been in place, and enforced by the borough council, prior to the demolition.

Major applications manager David Oakhill, for the council, said that the developers had applied, belatedly, to ‘regularise and authorise what is already happening’ – and although a demolition method statement had been lodged, it had not been approved prior to work starting. He said that, technically, there had been a breach of conditions.

“Bonfires and fires on the site had been ruled out. I’m unclear why that has been happening,” said Mr Oakhill who told councillors that it could be stopped be environmental health officers, immediately.

Cllr Ian Bruce said he was sorry to hear that neighbours had suffered from the fires and said he would advice the developers to be good neighbours into the future.

Cllr Kevin Brookes said he shared the advice : “bonfires can be a real nuisance, especially when we are talking about things which might have been there for many years. I can only imagine that some of the smoke will have been pretty horrible,” he said.

Once complete the development will also improve coastal defence measures, create gardens and add underground parking.

The revised application had been submitted to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council by Fortuneswell Investments Limited.

Plans for the six-acre former Ministry of Defence site were first proposed in 2013 with development costs put at £70million two years later. It was said at the time that, if approved, more than 260 jobs would be created by the scheme.