A proposal for a home to be built near Coneygar Hill has been described as a 'Trojan Horse' to more houses and has been strongly objected to by Bridport Town Council.

Plans for a home with four or more bedrooms off Rawles Way in Osbourne Road, with its own access road, have been submitted to Dorset Council. The land is close to Coneygar Hill, which is managed by Bridport Millennium Green Trust.

It would be positioned towards the top of the hill and would be a mixture of single and two storeys.

The application for outline planning permission was discussed at Bridport Town Council planning committee meeting - where concerns were raised that it would lead to more homes.

A resident joined the meeting to express his objection.

He said: "We can't understand why this application has a proposal for a new access road, but it will cut into the hill. I'm not an engineer but I'm amazed that anybody is thinking of doing it on such a tight slope.

"We've had drainage problems since we've been here. Another property added on, on the top of the hill, could add further drainage problems.

"We already have parking problems here, we're an overflow from Victoria Grove, workers park here, shoppers park here - we feel parking in this road is an issue that needs to be addressed.

"This, we feel, will just be a Trojan Horse. It's beyond the defined development boundary and we would like the land to be added to the Millennium Green Trust."

Councillor Sarah Carney said that as well as being outside the development boundary, it is also in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

"I quite strongly object to this planning application," she added. "It's speculative, it's a slippery slope, it's not really a planning application, it's a cynical approach - we have no idea what's going to be built there and if it's given outline planning permission, anything could happen."

Cllr Sarah Williams said the site had been deemed unsuitable for development by councillors, as well as those at the former West Dorset District Council, when they were looking for sites as part of the Bridport neighbourhood plan.

Cllr Dave Bolwell asked if there was a suggestion of more houses being built on the land, with town clerk Will Austin saying that an extract from the application's design intent statement mentions a possibility of 10 to 25 dwellings.

The plans have received more than 10 objections.

Comments are open on the plans, which can be found here.

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