12:00pm Monday 4th September 2006
By Gill Jenkins
POUNDBURY residents are calling for plans for a household recycling centre on the development to be withdrawn from a brief designed to shape the area's future.
The draft Poundbury Development Brief is due to be discussed by West Dorset district councillors tomorrow and features a range of future schemes for the Prince of Wales's project including the possibility of the centre, new school, leisure centre and plans for a landmark tower.
A new site for the household recycling centre is being sought because plans to build it in St George's Road, Dorchester, were dismissed by a government inspector.
But the Poundbury Residents Association has written to the chief executive of West Dorset District Council, David Clarke, calling for the household recycling centre to be removed from the brief.
Chairman of the Poundbury Residents Association Fran Leaper said in the letter that during a second round of consultations on the brief in May, 85 per cent of Poundbury residents said that they were opposed to the centre and that there was a rising tide of feeling against the proposal.
"I am therefore writing to ask members to remove the proposal for the possible household recycling centre in Poundbury from the development brief, for similar reasons to those given by the planning inspector for withdrawing the site on St George's Road.
"That is, Poundbury is an urban extension of Dorchester, and a household recycling centre would be far too close to this major new housing area.
"Its impact would blight households and businesses nearby, including a food factory and a children's nursery, and this would be made worse by the prevailing winds."
She said specific reasons for the objections included the impact of traffic and queues, especially at weekends, dust and noise, smells, floodlighting, fly-tipping and potential vermin.
"These issues will always pose problems, however well the centre is designed and run.
"Furthermore, the potential site is outside the Defined Development Boundary, on land within the AONB allocated in the local plan for amenity open space and in full view of Maiden Castle, walkers on the Perimeter Walkway and traffic on the A35 bypass where it is level with the site.
"It would blight the landscape and ruin the setting of Dorchester from a unique ancient monument, which is a major feature and tourist attraction for Dorchester.
"For the above reasons, I would urge members to remove the section on the possible household recycling centre and ask the county council to consider other sites outside the development boundary for Dorchester which would have much less impact on homes, businesses and our lovely landscape," said Mrs Leaper.
The draft Poundbury Development Brief will be discussed by members of the district council's overview and scrutiny committee tomorrow before going to the council's executive committee.
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