A WIMBORNE group is awaiting the outcome of a national challenge that could help to keep areas around the town as green fields.

Sheila Bourton, chairman of Keep Wimborne Green, said the organisation was interested in a debate revolving around the number of new houses the government wants to build.

Shadow planning minister Jacqui Lait has claimed that government plans to build three million new homes by 2020 to create more affordable housing will create "unsustainable urban sprawl".

The government has said it plans "robust protection" of the Green Belt. But a study by the Social Market Foundation says two million of these homes would have to be built on countryside or Green Belt areas around cities and towns.

Keep Wimborne Green was formed to try to prevent house-building on Green Belt, which protects from urban sprawl, the merging of towns and preserves the historic character of individual towns.

Sheila said: "Once Green Belt is gone it is gone for ever.

"We live in a particularly beautiful area surrounded by nature reserves, country lanes, heathland and SSSI sites and our historic town of Wimborne attracts tourists.

"It is very important to preserve and protect our rural area with its historic past. Quality of life is important.

"Another reason for trying to halt inappropriate development is the fact that we do not have the infrastructure in place to allow the building of the hundreds of new houses proposed for the Wimborne area, neither is there room to widen existing roads or build new ones.

"The government is committed to reduce carbon levels and discourages car use. Therefore to build hundreds of new houses miles from the main employment areas of Bourne-mouth and Poole and where there is no rail link is misguided to say the least!

"We are aware that some low-cost housing is required but feel that this should be built near employment centres, hospitals and town centres and should be restricted to local people only."

The group has also written to Gordon Brown, reminding him he gave assurances to the Commons that the government would continue to "protect robustly the land designated as Green Belt".

The group has already persuaded East Dorset District Council to change its mind about identifying some Green Belt land around the town for development.

It is now waiting for the outcome of the Examination in Public over the South West Draft Regional Spatial Strategy.