NEW plans have been submitted to build dozens of homes on land on the edge of a Purbeck village – a month after Dorset Council ruled a similar scheme “unacceptable”.

In June, Halsall Homes saw its first attempt to secure permission to develop the site on the western edge of Stoborough refused due to concerns it was not suitable for development.

But the developer has now submitted a new set of outline proposals Halsall Homes, saying the 30-home scheme for the Steppingstones field complies with council policies.

It had originally proposed a 35-home scheme in 2016 with opinions split among the 83 people who responded to a survey on the plan.

At the beginning of this year an application was submitted before council planning officers refused to grant permission last month due to concerns about its impact on the area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB)

In a report, planning officer Cari Wooldridge said: “The proposal for up to 30 new houses is considered to be a major development for the village of Stoborough.

“It would, by virtue of its scale and setting have a significant adverse local impact on the AONB and its purposes for designation”.

Following the decision, the developer has now lodged a new set of plans which it says complies with planning policies and would be “sustainable” development.

“The site, the village and the majority of Arne parish, is within the Dorset AONB, therefore in order to deliver housing within the parish, appropriate development is required,” its planning statement says.

“The application site represents one of a limited number of opportunities to sustainably do this. The parish elsewhere is heavily constrained by protected designations.”

It says the development would provide ‘affordable’ housing at a level compliant with the 50 per cent target set by the council.

A document produced by planning consultancy Origin3 on behalf of the developer says the latest scheme would be the only way to meet the need for new housing in the area.

“There is no scope for meeting the need of the parish in another way or developing outside the AONB as this would not deliver affordable housing,” it says.

Council planning officers will consider the application in the coming weeks.