Affordable homes for local people under the age of 35 in Dorchester will be built on a former town centre tennis court.

A first look at the design, together with a progress report, will be on show at a meeting of the Trust behind the project.

The presentation event for the public is being held in the Corn Exchange on Wednesday, June 12 from 3pm to 7pm.

It will highlight the Dorchester Area Community Land Trust’s plans for 19, one-bed flats, to be built on the old tennis courts off West Walks, Dorchester. The event is being held prior to the submission of a planning application to Dorset Council and the Trust say any feedback will be useful in compiling its submission to planners.

The flats will be for rent at 80 per cent of the market rate and will be allocated to young people, under the age of 35, who live and work in Dorchester. Prospective tenants will be selected from the Dorset Council Housing Register.

Plans for the development have been drawn up by London architects Reed Watts, who have extensive knowledge of affordable housing, and they will be built by Zero C who are part of the Places for People group with offices in Poundbury.

The collaborative project is between DACLT, Dorchester Town Council and Dorset Council and is aimed at meeting an urgent need in our town.

Work on the scheme has been slowed by protracted negotiations over funding and the need to keep the building away from the Walks, underneath which lies the old Roman walls of the town, a protected monument.

The Trust says those hurdles have been overcome and is now looking forward to finding more affordable housing sites in the area: “As a Community Land Trust, DACLT is in an excellent position to access government grants and to support its community by developing local housing and other facilities. Going forward, DACLT is actively seeking land or property in this area at a reduced price, in order to develop more affordable housing particularly, but not exclusively, for younger people,” said a spokesman for the group.

"We would like to hear from any public or private owners of land or property who might be willing to offer suitable sites for the development of such housing. Please contact us via our website www.daclt.org.uk .”