Wolfeton House: Developer loses appeal to build near manor

Plans to build homes near a "nationally important" manor house have been turned down by a planning inspector.

Residents have been fighting the plans at Wolfteton House near Dorchester, Dorset, for six years.

The house, on the edge of Charminster, is said to be Dorset's best Grade I listed building, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Campaigners said they hoped the latest decision would mean an end to attempts to develop the land.

The planning inspector decided the proposed homes would have had a negative impact on the setting of Wolfeton House and other listed buildings.

Dorset Council refused the outline application by Land Value Alliances for 80 homes in September 2021.

An earlier application in 2019 was for 120 homes.

The Pegasus Group, which acted for Land Value Alliances, said the southern part of the site would create "a landscape buffer" incorporating a public open space, between the proposed homes and Wolfeton House.

Campaigner David Shaw said: "We can only hope that, now a second recent appeal has been dismissed on this land... that the developers will now give up."

The medieval and Elizabethan manor house was featured in Thomas Hardy's writing and described by Historic England as "one of the finest houses in Dorset, and a heritage asset of the very highest significance".

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].