CERNE ABBAS village hall will get a lit pavement to the building for the first time – after a plan for five homes alongside was approved.

Support for the scheme had come from the parish council and had not attracted any objections.

The parish said the scheme met all the objectives, housing polices and development principles of the Cerne Valley Neighbourhood Plan.

The bonus for the village is that the developers will build a pathway to the hall, for the first time, with lighting from the new homes adding to public safety.

Applecourt Ltd say the scheme has been designed to reflect existing styles in the village, to maintain trees on the site, and to create a new footpath which will help hall users.

The site is a 1,900 square metres grass and scrub area to the west of the village hall bordered by Duck Street to the west and Kettle Bridge Lane to north. The village hall adjoins the site to the east. It is thought the area was once used as a quarry and then left as scrubland after being filled in.

The project will bring one 4-bed detached house and two pairs of semi-detached houses, three with 3-beds and one with 2-bedrooms with space between them for 11 cars.

The planning application says that a new footpath will be created on the highway verge northwards from the Springfield junction stretching for around 30metres. On the other side of Duck Street, the footpath will continue along the verge in front of one of the homes before entering the site next to the proposed vehicle access. The footpath will then run along the base of the wooded bank in front of three of the plots where it will emerge onto Kettle Bridge Lane. The agent says the proposed footpath fulfils a community need for a safe and attractive route between the village and the hall.