An application for a detached home on a small industrial site opposite the lane to Thomas Hardy’s cottage has been refused, despite the support of neighbours and the parish council.

The outline application for Hampton Farm business park at Bockhampton Lane, Higher Bockhampton has been rejected by a Dorset Council planning officer as being ‘unsustainable.’

The parish council said that previous applications for homes on the site had been approved, although they were not built. It supported the home, for a site manager, although it agreed the location was outside the development boundary of the parish.

Only the Stinsford Neighbourhood Plan group expressed any reservations claiming that there was no justification for a home on the site.

Neighbours and business using the industrial units had also written to support the application claiming it would improve security and ensure derelict buildings were removed.

But a report from the council said the home could not be justified: “This scheme is considered to be in a unsustainable location with no safe and convenient access to everyday goods and services within or beyond the village of Higher Bockhampton other than by the private car. The limited addition to housing land supply is significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the negative impact on the environment. Therefore, it is contrary to the sustainable development objectives.”