Proposals for fifteen homes on a north Dorset farm site have been refused.

Dorset Council has rejected an ‘in principle’ application to demolish former egg production buildings at Thorpe Farm off Marsh Lane, Winterborne Kingston, and to then build up to 15 homes on the site.

The 0.6 hectare plot is on the eastern edge of the village accessed via a track to the south of the site.

A prior approval consent was given in January 2021 to convert the farm buildings into four homes and to use one of the buildings for flexible business use.

A planning agent claimed that the application for 15 homes on the site would equate to the employment of 46 people in the village and “an increase in open space, community sport and leisure spending by £12,093 and the generation of £180,795 in tax revenue including £16,941 in council tax revenue.”

The agent’s report said the proposal would remove existing utilitarian agricultural buildings and replacing them with a high quality residential development, “marking a significant improvement on the aesthetic appearance of the site.”

Dorset Council planning officers decided that the larger application would have more of an impact on the area than the previous application for four homes by converting the existing buildings.

It said the site was outside of the village development zone, was not considered sustainable and would add to the flood risks, especially on the main access road.