West Dorset District Council - Local Plan

The current West Dorset District Local Plan, which contains policies and proposals for development and use of land in West Dorset, was adopted by the council on 14 July 2006.

The Local Plan guides development in the area until 2016.

It contains policies and proposals for development and the use of land that will help the local community thrive socially and economically. It also tries to ensure development does not harm the environment or threaten the special characteristics of West Dorset. The adopted Local Plan July 2006 replaced the 1998 adopted Local Plan.

Where to find the plan

The Local Plan with an interactive map (opens in a new window) is available. The written statement with details of the policies and site specific proposals can be downloaded. The text on the reverse of the inset maps includes a summary of policies at those settlements for which there are separate maps.

Paper copies of the Local Plan are available to purchase from the the district council offices at Dorchester, Bridport and Sherborne. The cost is:

Local Plan Written Statement £15 (+£5 p&p)
Local Plan Maps Folder £50 (+£5 p&p)

Maps can also be bought individually:

Proposals map (east, west, north) £6 each
Inset maps for Bridport, Chickerell, Dorchester, Lyme Regis, Sherborne £5
All other inset maps, Diagram 1 and Diagram 2 £2

The documents can be viewed at the district council offices in Dorchester, Bridport and Sherborne and have been sent to the libraries in West Dorset and Weymouth town centre. For more details of how you can view or buy the plan please use the contact details below.

Replacing the Local Plan and Saved Policies

West Dorset District Council had begun work on a Local Development Framework(LDF) to replace the Local Plan as set out by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. However, work on the West Dorset LDF has stopped and the district council will be preparing replacement documents under the New Planning System proposed by the coalition government.

The 2004 legislation permitted the entire Local Plan to be 'saved' for three years from adoption. The Council submitted a request to the Government Office for the South West that the majority of policies should continue to be saved after that date until replaced by new local policy.

The district council has received a Direction (pdf, 205kb) (opens in a new window) and Schedule of Saved Local Plan policy (pdf, 63kb) (opens in a new window) from the Government Office for the South West . Those policies not listed expired on 15 July 2009.

All but nine Local Plan policies have been saved beyond that date. The policies that are not saved (pdf, 7kb) (opens in a new window) relate to matters which are already sufficiently covered by national guidance or relate to sites which are now developed.

Inspector's report

As part of the public inquiry process, an independent planning inspector considered objections to the draft Local Plan. Copies of the inspector's report (January 2006) are available to view or to purchase.