PLANS to build 55 homes on a field south of Shaftesbury are set to be approved, despite the site being outside the town’s designated settlement boundary.

Concerns about North Dorset District Council’s failure to hit its housing targets have prompted planning officers to recommend that outline planning permission be granted for the development of the Higher Blandford Road site.

The move comes despite opposition from Shaftesbury town and Melbury Abbas and Cann parish councils on the grounds of potential traffic safety issues the development could create.

The eight-acre site had been considered as part of a larger mixed-use development during the local plan process but was removed following comments from the document’s independent examiner that its “open and rural” nature “contributes much” to the town’s setting.

Developer Shaftesbury LVA had submitted an application to redevelop the site, which falls outside of the town’s settlement boundary, in 2015 but withdrew this before submitted scaled-back plans last year.

It describes Its latest application for 55 homes – 30 per cent of which would be classed as ‘affordable – as “a sensible proposition” for “an appropriate location.

Its application will be considered by North Dorset District Council’s planning committee at its meeting on Tuesday.

The council’s case officer Robert Lennis has recommended that outline permission be granted for the development on the grounds that the council cannot demonstrate the five-year supply of housing required by government and its “sustainable” location.

“This site is immediately adjacent to Shaftesbury and any future residential development here would be reliant upon Shaftesbury to provide services and facilities to meet day-to-day needs,” he said.

“Shaftesbury is identified in the adopted local plan as one of the four main towns in North Dorset that will function as a main service centre in the district.”