On Wednesday, 17 December Beaminster Town Council voted to refuse the Parnham application.
There were 7 members of the Planning Committee present; the motion that they agreed to vote on was “to refuse the application”; on which 4 members voted in favour, 0 against, and 3 abstained. Not a single Committee member voted to support the application.
At least two of the Committee members mentioned that they wanted to have “no development across the river”. But the Committee simplified the motion to the one they voted on above.
There were strong support from local residents and it was a packed meeting. The Public Hall was so full there was standing room only, with every chair taken and more than 30 people standing at the back and down the sides of the hall. Altogether there were about 170 residents present. The mood was assertive, with the audience actively applauding spoken points against the application.
Technically, it was a meeting of the Beaminster Town Council Planning Committee, with half an hour at the beginning set aside for brief contributions from the public. The committee meeting itself was short, with the chair reading out a prepared overview on the issues facing Parnham House and the facts about enabling development to Committee members.
There were a wide range of points from a number of contributors. The issue of the enabling development harms totally outweighing the minor public benefits was frequently cited. Many would like to preserve what remains of Parnham House as an attractive ruin, but not at the expense of the town and surrounding countryside.
This is the first time Beaminster residents have really seen and experienced for themselves the breadth and depth of the feeling against the Parnham planning application. It shows that, as a group of concerned local residents, they can make a difference.
The Beaminster Town Council vote is only advisory and it falls to the 12 Councillors on the Dorset Council Planning Committee to make the final decision in March. So, as a next step, people need to send in their objections before 11 January 2026. It will make a difference.
