A CAMPAIGN group has doubled down on its view that a proposed development north of Dorchester is not needed.

It comes as the developers behind the project launch a survey to gauge views.

Members of Save The Area North Dorchester (STAND) say up to 3,500 homes planned for land north of the county town would ‘carve through a beautiful water meadow’ and would be built on land subject to flooding.

They also aired concerns about pedestrians crossing a proposed new link road.

Campaigners claim there wouldn’t be enough jobs in the area for the number of people living at the development and have criticised the development masterplan for ‘no mention of social housing for young low-income families’.

Construction for the controversial and massive North Dorchester Garden Community development could start in 2028.

The site is ‘being considered’ as a possible location for new homes as part of the Government’s garden communities initiative.

However, some locals have been left ‘confused’ and ‘upset’ by these plans.

The plans for the site include a school, a 200-acre park and three areas of housing with a commercial centre of shops and businesses, offering up to 3,500 homes.

Nigel Kay, communications director at Save The Area North Dorchester (STAND), said: “Why build a country park on the beautiful countryside that already exists as we already have this beautiful water meadow, and they are carving through it.

“The rest of the road is going to have to be raised to a level above the flood plain. We have seen over the last year how rapidly that area of land floods.”

A spokesperson for the North Dorchester Consortium said: “We have had discussions with the Environment Agency to ensure this is not an issue for the new road. We would raise the road slightly and create compensatory flood storage area nearby, so we did not worsen flood risk. The road would be designed so flood water could pass underneath.”

The proposed development area is an arc of land from Charminster round to Stinsford, taking in the area just north of the water meadows and the River Frome.

Throughout proposals the consortium that has been developing the plans has also promised an ease to the congestion through the town centre and Puddletown bypass.

The proposed ‘Northern Link Road’ will tie together the A35, A37, the A352 and the C12 to Sherborne.

Jane Ashdown, chairman of STAND, branded the development as ‘the wrong houses, in the wrong place at the wrong time.’ She said: “This masterplan for 3,500 executive homes makes no mention of social housing for young low-income families; there’s no explanation of where the jobs will be created to enable people to buy these houses; and there’s scant regard for our precious environment.”

A spokesperson for the Consortium said: “The North Dorchester Garden Community will provide a variety of new homes at a wide range of price points. Dorset lacks space for new offices and so the addition of a new business park within the North Dorchester Garden Community is a significant boost for the County Town. These new jobs will provide more opportunity for people to live and work locally, alleviating traffic and creating a balanced town.”

The developers have launched a residents survey with 16 questions asking such things as whether people support the need for more homes. It can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/7G9PLJV