UP to 135 new homes could be built on land near Blandford.

A planning application has been submitted to Dorset Council by David Locke Associates on behalf of Hallam Land Management for a site of around 5.7 hectares, north of Ward’s Drove, Blandford St Mary.

The application says a “mix of house types” would be built on the site, including affordable homes, as well as green space.

It promises a “sensitively-designed scheme which respects the site’s urban edge and its landscape setting”, near the current St Mary’s Hill development.

Access to the development would come from the A350 Bournemouth Road, the application said, with the North Dorset Trailway from Ward’s Drove running through the site.

How the 135 new homes near Blandford could look. Picture: David Lock Associates/Dorset Council

“A key feature of the proposals is the integration of the North Dorset Trailway from Ward’s Drove at the southern boundary through the site to the northern boundary, where it is planned to continue through the adjacent development to a new controlled crossing at grade of the A354 Blandford Bypass,” it said.

“The new route away from its current alignment on the A350 will create an attractive, convenient and direct pedestrian and cycle connection that can be used to access local services and facilities and make it more attractive as a long distance recreational route.”

A “robust, high quality, sustainable residential development” is planned, the application added, with “good connections to local services and community facilities in Blandford St Mary and Blandford Forum”.

For more details on the scheme, and to comment, log on to www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk and search for application reference P/OUT/2023/07266.