WORRIED residents are calling for an independent survey of the polluted former gas works site in Poole.

At a public meeting held last night, around 70 Baiter Park and Poole town centre residents expressed their fears over Crest Nicholson's plans to develop the site.

The house developer is applying for planning permission from the Borough of Poole to build 534 homes on the site and residents are concerned about how the poisoned land will be cleaned up.

Despite a thick environmental survey submitted with the application, David Howard, Baiter representative of Parkstone Bay Association, which called the meeting, said site investigations still had to take place.

"Most of the information seemed to be old historical information," he said. "The more you look into the document, very little investigation had been done.

"There was some detail of six to eight bore holes and two to three trenches. They were depending on old information. That wasn't the impression they were giving," he said.

Residents signed a petition which will be used to urge the council to call for an independent survey of the land - not one carried out for the developer.

And concerns raised about noise and dust, density, parking, pollution of the harbour and calls for a smaller development will be put to Crest Nicholson at a meeting with the association next week.

Mr Howard said they were very much in favour of this development. "But we don't want to see local people being put at risk by a rush to develop it without first investigating precisely what's under there," he said.

Ward councillors Chris Bulteel, Bill Wretham and council leader Brian Leverett all attended the meeting and expressed support for residents.

Cllr Leverett said strict government regulations governed the safe land clean-up and development of gas works sites.

"You can rest assured that the strictest conditions will be enforced to ensure that land is useable before ever it's used," he said.