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7.1.3 Dorset Council have agreed the above figure, but acknowledge that this cannot be confirmed until it is adopted through the Dorset Council Local Plan.

7.1.4 The amount of development included in the housing target is expected to come forward through windfall development¹⁵ and Dorset Council do not require the Neighbourhood Plan to allocate further sites. Significant development is also planned in Broadmayne¹⁶ and Crossways¹⁷ that may assist in meeting some of the housing needs for the Knightsford area, and there is also more development coming forward in Dorchester. Nonetheless, this Plan has considered whether it should also allocate sites (and amend the defined development boundaries where infill development can happen) to identify areas where additional development can happen. Allocating sites to help meet local housing needs also means that, if the Local Plan becomes out-of-date, this Neighbourhood Plan will still be given full weight in decision-making for the first five years following adoption.

Evidence of local housing need

7.1.5 Consideration has also been given to local needs for affordable housing, based on the affordable housing register (using data from December 2023). This shows a need for 7 affordable homes across the four parishes, requiring a mix of 3 x 1, 1 x 2 and 3 x 4-bedroom homes, from households with a local connection to the Knightsford area. Whilst the housing register fluctuates over time (as households find suitable accommodation as affordable housing becomes available and other households are formed or fall into or out of need¹⁸), the registers are generally considered to be an underestimate, as many households that could qualify for affordable housing – particularly for affordable home ownership – do not think to register.

7.1.6 Earlier work on housing needs undertaken in 2022¹⁹ which was based on 2011 Census data, average income data from 2018, land registry house price from 2021 and affordable housing register data from 2022, suggests that:

• Additional affordable housing over and above that shown on the housing register would be beneficial, and should provide for a range of affordable housing tenures.
• The discount on First Homes should be set at 50% if viable in order to bring these homes into reach of households on average incomes. Shared ownership provided with 10% equity may be a more affordable option for many and should also be considered. According to the 2021 Census there were no such properties in the area. The proportion of affordable housing as ‘home ownership’ options should be increased to 40% (as opposed to the 30%) to address the larger scale of demand for home ownership.
• Affordable rented tenures are vital for households on below-average incomes. The provision of social rented accommodation rather than affordable rents would have the benefit of reducing those household’s reliance on housing benefits, and more likely to suit households with only a single income.
• Data from the 2022 household survey suggests that the main need for affordable housing is likely to arise in the parishes of West Knighton and West Stafford. According to the 2021 Census (now available), the proportion of private rented accommodation is notably higher in Woodsford and Tincleton (accounting for 29% of housing tenures, which is considerably higher than the Dorset average of 16% and lower levels in the rest of Knightsford).
• Future housing development should focus its delivery towards smaller to intermediate units (especially one and two-bedroom units ideally as terraced homes and houses subdivided into apartments) to increase the variety of types and sizes available in the local housing stock.
• The area is unlikely to be suitable for specialist accommodation for the elderly, on the basis of its relatively poor accessibility and need for cost-effectiveness (as small care homes struggle to be profitable). Achieving higher standards of accessible and adaptable dwellings could be made a requirement in at least 20% of new homes. Since the study was completed, the Government has announced its intention to mandate the current M4(2) (Category 2: Accessible and adaptable dwellings) requirement in Building Regulations as a minimum standard for all new homes.
• Increases in the proportion of vacant / second homes should be monitored - the proportion of vacant homes in 2011 was 7.2%. According to the 2021 Census (now available), this has risen to 8.9%, and 5.1% of households are using their property as a second home. Whilst this increase is unlikely to be at a level that would justify a restriction on such homes, further increases may begin to impact on local communities, particularly West Stafford where the vacancy rates are the highest.

Consideration of additional sites to deliver further housing

7.1.7 The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group initiated a ‘call for sites’ in late 2022 in order to better understand the locations where landowners would be interested in building new homes. This provided additional sites to consider over and above those suggested to Dorset Council. 14 sites in total were independently assessed by AECOM to determine whether they may be suitable for development and identify possible issues that would need to be addressed if they were taken forward. Part of one of the sites (land at Glebe Farm North, West Knighton) was provisionally assessed by AECOM as suitable for development, two sites were considered wholly unsuitable, with the remainder having issues identified that would require resolution but potentially suitable. These findings were shared with local residents. There was very little support to bring forward any of the sites for a wide variety of reasons, with the exception of land north of Yoah Cottage which was included as a possible allocation in the first draft of this Neighbourhood Plan. Serious consideration was also given to the inclusion of part of Glebe Farm (the areas which have been previously developed) which had engendered more mixed views, but discussions with the Highways Team at Dorset Council indicated that, contrary to the initial finding that it may be a suitable site for development, there are no obvious solutions to provide a suitably safe vehicle access to this site. Dorset Council also objected to the inclusion of the site north of Yoah Cottage based on heritage, highways and environmental grounds, and the policy proposing its allocation has therefore been deleted.

7.1.8 At the time the Plan was being drafted a housing site was being promoted on the edge of West Stafford (off Wynd Close). Outline planning permission for 14 dwellings (P/OUT/2022/00153) was refused by Dorset Council in August 2022, and the appeal against this refusal was dismissed in October 2024 as being contrary to the spatial strategy, recognising that, in terms of its suitability for development, West Stafford has only a limited range of services and facilities.

7.1.9 Whilst this Neighbourhood Plan does not include site allocations, there are other opportunities for housing to come forward as established through the Local Plan, on infill development within the settlement boundary of West Knighton, through conversions of existing buildings, as rural worker’s dwelling where a need for on-site accommodation is shown, and for affordable housing on what are called ‘rural exception sites’ (as an exception is made because of the need for affordable housing in that community). Land adjoining West Knighton can be considered for rural exception sites, as the combined settlements of Broadmayne and West Knighton are in a sustainable location given the range of facilities here. Whether there is a clear need for affordable housing here will need to be examined further in light of the development coming forward in Broadmayne. The village of West Stafford is not considered to be as suitable for affordable housing because of the lack of local facilities, but it is reasonably close to Dorchester and there may be opportunities for infill development that could come forward for affordable home ownership which would be appropriate on a limited scale. The smaller settlements in the area are not considered to be suitable locations for affordable housing because of the lack of facilities, unless there is a functional need for a rural worker’s dwelling.

Additional requirements

7.1.10 Residential development in the area will also need to comply with wider requirements set out in the Local Plan and national planning policy. This is likely to include the need for nutrient neutrality, measures to address the recreational-related pressures on the Dorset Heathlands, and biodiversity net gains, as well as avoiding development within flood risk areas. Mitigation for water quality impacts on Poole Harbour SPA and recreational-related pressures on the Dorset Heathlands will be required for any net gain in dwellings (including tourism accommodation), and Dorset Council has provided guidance in relation to these matters in the form of the Dorset Heathlands Planning Framework²⁰ and on its website https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/nutrient-neutrality-1. For small-scale development mitigation in relation to the heathlands will normally be through contributions collected through CIL payments (if applicable). With regard to nutrient neutrality, there are a broad range of measures are available to mitigate potential adverse effects from treated sewage effluent, both within development sites and off-site, and the details of mitigation will need to be identified for each application.

7.1.11 The following policy sets out how this Plan proposes to meet local housing needs in the area.

7.2 Business Needs

7.2.1 Neither the Household Survey nor Business Surveys conducted in 2022 identified significant requirements for new business premises in the area. From the very limited number of responses received from local businesses, two indicated that they were likely to be looking to extend or relocate their premises in the next 15 years, and a further two indicated that this was a possibility, but only one business was likely to require new premises or land beyond their existing site. Local residents, in responding to the household survey, did not consider that there was a need for further holiday accommodation in terms of holiday cottages or caravan parks, and there was only limited support for more office, retail, catering or workshop based employment (which were supported by between 16 – 36% of those respondents). In general most residents felt that the main business to be encouraged should be based around agriculture / horticulture / food production.

7.2.2 The Local Plan (adopted in 2015) does not set a target for additional employment development in the area. However its policies allow new employment sites in the Knightsford area through the following means:

• development within or on the edge of a settlement (under Policy SUS2 and ECON1);
• the conversion or replacement of an existing rural buildings (under Policies SUS3/4 and ECON1);
• through farm diversification schemes (under Policies ECON1 and ECON8); or
• where a rural location is essential for that type of business (under Policy ECON1, and also ECON6/7 if providing tourist accommodation or ECON5 for other tourist businesses).

7.2.3 None of the landowners who responded to the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group’s ‘call for sites’ in late 2022 were seeking to develop their land for employment / business use.

7.2.4 On this basis, the Neighbourhood Plan does not include a bespoke policy for meeting local business needs, with any proposals to be considered against the Local Plan and appropriate design / location policies contained in this Plan.

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¹³ A minimum housing target is to be based on the sum of the existing completions since the start of the plan period, the number of dwellings with planning permission, the capacity on identified large sites within defined development boundaries of towns and larger villages, and strategic allocations, plus an estimated windfall allowance on small sites based on historic completion rates from 2014, applied to year 4 of the plan period onwards.

¹⁴ net residual at West Knighton Farm WD/D/19/003063 & WD/D/20/002984 (2 gross)

¹⁵ Windfall development is development of small sites (of less than 10 homes) that may happen through infill development, conversions, subdivisions or other means and is not included as an allocation in a development plan.

¹⁶ Outline planning permission P/OUT/2021/05309 was granted 12/07/24 for up to 80 dwellings on land at Broadmead, Broadmayne and includes the provision of 36 affordable homes.

¹⁷ Detailed planning permission P/RES/2021/01645 was granted 27/10/21 and will deliver 140 dwellings on land West of Frome Valley Road and the planning application WD/D/16/000378 (which has yet to be determined) proposes a further 500 dwellings on land allocated for such development through the Local Plan.

¹⁸ As illustrated by the data from March 2022, which showed a higher level of need (for 9 homes) but much more concentrated on 1 bedroom properties.

¹⁹ Knightsford Parish Housing Needs Assessment (HNA), October 2022, prepared by AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited for Knightsford Parish Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group

²⁰ Dorset Heathlands Planning Framework 2020-2025 Supplementary Planning Document, April 2020 https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/w/dorset-heathlands-planning-framework

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