A BOURNEMOUTH MP will urge the Secretary of State to call in the controversial Talbot Heath development after it was approved by Poole planners.

After a full day’s hearing Borough of Poole’s planning committee voted five to three to approve the massive Talbot Village trust application for 378 new homes and 450 student units on land south of Wallisdown Road.

Bournemouth Borough Council was among those registering strong objections on traffic grounds, and Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns is to ask Eric Pickles, secretary of state for communities and local government, to scrutinise the matter.

Footage by Alice Worsley

“While I fully support the need for more affordable housing in the area these plans simply do not take the very valid concerns of residents into account,” said the MP.

“Not only is a traffic blackspot in line to become even more congested, but the impact on the local environment could be catastrophic.”

Hundreds of Poole and Bournemouth residents packed the meeting at the Hamworthy Club, Canford Magna, to oppose the plans, and jeered at officers’ findings that traffic on Wallisdown Road has decreased over the past few years.

Vic Shears of the Talbot Village Residents Association said residents would be “marooned” by traffic – “unable to get onto Wallisdown Road”.

Bournemouth councillor Stephen Chappell, representing Talbot and Branksome Woods, said voting through the plans would see the “voice of the community stifled”.

Branksome East ward councillor Guy Montrose said: “It’s not just about facts and figures, it’s about what’s right for the people – and we don’t want this.”

Among the benefits proposed by the trust is a £1.2 million investment in the heath, returning 26 acres of farmland to heathland and protecting it with a 2.4m cat-proof fence.

The Talbot Village Trust was delighted with the outline planning permission and now intends to submit detailed proposals.

“We believe the scheme, which encompasses affordable housing, extended and properly managed heathland plus substantial financial investments in the locality, will bring huge benefits to the local community,” said trustee James Gibson Fleming.