TWO new developments in North Dorset have been refused, despite warnings about the lack of house-building in the area.

Members of the district council’s planning committee rejected schemes for a total of 90 homes in separate Shaftesbury and Hazelbury Bryan applications on Tuesday.

Both decisions went against the recommendations of the council’s own planning officers who said that they would help it meet government housing targets.

The applications were considered by councillors at their meeting on Tuesday after they were opposed by parish councils.

Thirty per cent of the 55-home scheme for Higher Blandford Road on the southern edge of Shaftesbury would have been ‘affordable’ and developer Shaftesbury LVA described it as “a sensible proposition” for the site.

The council’s case officer Robert Lennis had 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.

However, opposition was lodged by Shaftesbury town and Melbury Abbas and Cann parish councils over fears about the impact of increased traffic.

The application was rejected by the committee due to concerns that it was “overdevelopment” of the site and that it was too far away from services in Shaftesbury.

Following that, councillors also refused to grant planning permission for a 35-home development near the Antelope Inn in Hazelbury Bryan which had also been objected to by its parish council.

The application was submitted by the pub’s owners, Hall and Woodhouse and was revised down from an initial 47 homes in a bid to address residents’ concerns.

However, Hazelbury Bryan Parish Council said that claims that the community supported the scheme were “disingenuous and wrong”.

They said that, if approved, the development would have “undermined” the area’s neighbourhood plan and that other housing sites already allow it to meet the local need for housing.