Dorset Natural Heritage Initiative is a group of local residents opposed to the proposed private housing development on the deer park and Millground meadow at Parnham Park.
It has been suggested that we are not “engaging” with the developer. We want to be clear and open with other residents about our position.
The planning application has now been formally submitted. At this stage, the developer’s plans are fixed and public. Decisions are no longer made through private discussions, but through the statutory planning process.
That process exists precisely so that everyone has an equal voice. Once an application is live, the appropriate and democratic way for residents to engage is by submitting their views to Dorset Council via the planning portal, where they become part of the public record and must be considered by councillors.
Meeting privately with a developer after submission does not change the application and does not give the wider community a voice. Public comment does.
The developer has set out their case. Now it is right that local residents, and anyone who cares about this landscape, are able to set out theirs through the same formal process.
We encourage all those who oppose this development to make their views known via the Dorset Council planning portal.
Clear guidance on how to do this can be found here:
https://dorsetnaturalheritage.com/how-to-object/
