THERE are just a few days left to have your say on the Dorset Council Local Plan.

As reported, around 30,500 new homes are proposed for the county by 2038 - although Dorset Council has said the plan is to find land for 39,000 houses.

As well as house building, the Plan sets out a blueprint for job creation, roads, and local services, to be used by a guide to enable the council to have more control over where developments can go - although some groups have criticised the current proposals for being developer-led.

But with just days before the consultation ends, criticism has been levelled at Dorset Council that the document is a ‘copy and paste’ of previous iterations - and that councillors are ‘out of touch’ with reality.

Weymouth Town Councillors have slammed the Plan as a ‘missed opportunity’ for local people - arguing that too many new homes are proposed, and not enough focus is given to developments that would boost job prospects.

Several sites in Weymouth and surrounding areas have been earmarked for housing - as reported, part of this would involve building on town centre brownfield sites including car parks - attracting concern from Weymouth BID about impact upon shops.

Weymouth’s Liberal Democrat group said that much of the plan “is merely cut and paste from the previous 2015 Local Plan,” and that there is “little evidence of review, lessons learnt, consideration of local needs and changed circumstances.”

Weymouth Town Council held an online public meeting to agree a response to the consultation. Residents have until midnight on March 15 to share their views.

At the meeting, concerns were raised that many of the new homes included in the Plan’s total housing allocation have in fact already been built, or have previously been granted planning permission.

But although many of the Weymouth developments listed in the documents did not come as a surprise, one large development stood out.

That was a proposal for 150 new homes on greenfield land at Redlands Farm in the Wey Valley area.

Similar plans have previously been rejected in 2015 and 2018.

One neighbour, David Berry, raised concerns over “urban sprawl”, while another, Ian Wolff, said he had collected 260 signatures on a petition against the development - with the area reported to be home to a multitude of wildlife species including badgers and deer.

“It was rejected twice due to the site’s importance to local green infrastructure - what has changed?,” Mr Wolff said.

Meanwhile, land at Newton’s Cove near the Nothe was also included as being a potential source of new homes.

A care home village with accommodation for 220 people was granted planning permission there in 2016 - however construction work did not begin, and the site is currently up for sale.

The town council said it does not know whether there are still plans to go ahead with those plans - but councillors stated that their preferred option is for a water sports facility to be built at the site to help provide jobs 'particularly for young people'.

Also on the agenda was the plan for a new Gypsy and Traveller site for Weymouth.

More on that proposal can be found here .

Affordability of homes in Weymouth was another point of discussion at the meeting.

Councillor Gill Taylor stated that more house building is needed to help young people get onto the property ladder.

However councillor Tia Roos gave an impassioned speech about the harsh realities for many local families. "You're all out of touch - and so is Dorset Council," she said.

"You're privileged to be able to own a home - so many families are living in B&Bs because we have no social housing. Meanwhile we seem to have become obsessed with building homes for young people to buy - the reality is, most have barely enough each month to afford rent on a tiny flat - which is why open green spaces are so important."

Weymouth resident Rob Cheeseman said: "There is a tendency in local government to have an inside out view of the world - what is needed is real-life input of the life journey from growing up in Weymouth as a young person, and as an adult living and working here."

Another resident - former councillor Ian Bruce - said it is important to secure enough land for potential housing allocation to give more control if developers submit plans to build outside the agreed areas.

As well as house building, the Plan sets out a blueprint for job creation, roads, and local services, to be used by a guide to enable the council to have more control over where developments can do - although some groups have criticised the current proposals for being developer-led.

Those comments were made in response to the largest proposed new housing development in the county - a 4,000-home scheme on greenfield land north of Dorchester.

The development has been met by strong opposition from west Dorset MP Chris Loder as well as Dorchester Town Council and the Save The Area North of Dorchester (STAND) group.

READ MORE: Proposed north of Dorchester development is larger than Poundbury - it would be a disaster

READ MORE: West Dorset MP opposing Conservative leaders over future vision for housing

Elsewhere in the county, in Western Dorset (Bridport, Beaminster, Lyme Regis and surrounding areas) around 1,469 new homes are being proposed - including 930 at Vearse Farm.

In Northern Dorset (Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Sherborne and surrounding areas) 4,389 new homes are proposed - including a 1,800 home expansion of Gillingham.

The area with the second-largest share of new developments is South Eastern Dorset (including Blandford, Swanage, Wareham, Ferndown, Verwood, West Moors and Wimborne Minster. Currently, around 7,544 new homes are proposed - including on protected green belt areas.

A People's Assembly was recently held by Corfe Castle Parish Council on the Dorset Local Plan, which saw more than 60 Dorset residents express "strong views," the parish council has said.

As well as echoing concerns about jobs and affordable housing, points were made about the climate emergency.

Councillor Steve Clarke, chairman of the Parish Council said: "There is no sense that Dorset Council has integrated the Climate Emergency, which it has declared, into its plans. We should focus on green tourism, which protects the environment. It is our environment, which makes Dorset so special. We must do more to reduce energy use and generate green energy."

Meanwhile, Wool Flora and Fauna - a small voluntary group of professional ecologists, said the area has just hit a tally of 3000 species of animal and plant in its recent audit.

"The Dorset and Purbeck local plans show little attention if any to Climate Change or Biodiversity Loss," a spokesman said.

"Dorset is one of the most biodiverse counties in England - Purbeck is the richest area for biodiversity. Wool is a jewel in its crown but ignored for too long, despite its huge biodiversity."

To have your say by the deadline of March 15, visit Dorset Council's website - where you will also find webinars and podcasts about the proposals: www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/dorset-council-local-plan.aspx