PURBECK needs to experience 'proportionate growth' rather than developing a few large sites for housing, a recent public consultation suggests.

Residents were asked to help review the planning blueprint for the district, that sets out preferred future development until 2027.

Purbeck District Council wanted to know where citizens thought new homes, shops and businesses should be built.

The consultation, which ran earlier this year, was part of a partial review of the Purbeck District Local Plan, which was agreed by councillors three years ago and appraised by the Government's Planning Inspectorate.

The council received 484 responses, from a range of organisations and individuals.

Cllr Peter Wharf said: "The feedback received was very useful and the council is looking further into how the concerns raised can be addressed.

"This will include considering the possibility of proportionate growth around the district, rather than at a few large sites, which was a popular suggestion among respondents."

The report also highlights the commonly cited view that the council's strategy should be to expand every settlement by ten per cent. "This is perceived to be fair and would help spread the pressure on infrastructure," stated the report.

Other emerging key themes included concerns that local infrastructure will not be able to cope with increased housing, and the potential impact of green belt development.

Cllr Wharf said: "The council will be preparing a paper to explore issues around the green belt, and will be taking into account infrastructure requirements and environmental constraints as the plan progresses.

"Thank you to those organisations and individuals that took part in the consultation."

Residents will have another opportunity to comment on the partial review when a further consultation is likely to take place early next year.

Te local plan was only declared sound by the Planning Inspectorate, on condition a partial review of the document was undertaken by 2017.

Visit dorsetforyou.com/purbeck-partial-review to view the full 360-page consultation report.