Hopes of a pedestrian link to the former Dorchester prison site from Glyde Path Road are expected to come to an end this week.

Developers City and Country is pressing ahead with its plan to convert a former jail stable into a single-bedroom home – and planning officers agree there is no reason why they should not do so.

The application has been delayed twice for further investigations after Dorchester Town Council claimed the site had been earmarked for a pedestrian route during the early development stages.

A report to the district planning committee this Thursday (January 17) does not support the claim, and the committee is being asked to agree the proposal.

“The approved plans for the prison application do not show an access through this land, there was no condition imposed to provide an access, nor was there a Section 106 agreement to secure it,” concludes the report to councillors.

“At no stage during the prison application did officers of WDDC or the highway authority request that the pedestrian link be provided through this site, and indeed the highway authority concluded as part of their formal consultation response to the prison application that the link was not necessary and they supported the application in the absence of the link.”

City and Country say that to have an arch through the building would make it too small to be a viable home and lead to security risks.

Town councillors say the access route to the prison site should be preserved, offering an alternative way in and out of the site, rather than the only other route, via North Square.

Despite preparatory talks on the redevelopment of the prison site starting in 2014 with planning permission granted in 2016 no major works have started on the site of the former jail.

City and Country said last year that it was looking for partnerships with others, or the possible sale of its interest in the site, after becoming 'overstretched' with other developments.