SOME 300 people packed Lytchett Matravers Village Hall for a protest meeting at plans for almost 3,000 new homes around the village.

Crowds spilled out the doors at the event on Saturday, organised by the parish council, with invited speakers including mid Dorset and north Poole MP Annette Brooke, a local architect, and a district council planning officer.

While they spoke on issues ranging from the green belt to the undemocratic' processes which produced the housing figure, they were all united against such a large development.

And the community also began preparing for battle as villagers signed up to join a newly formed action group, Sustainable Matravers.

They will be objecting to recommendations from a South West Regional Spatial Strategy report to build a 2,750-home "western extension" on green belt land at Lytchett Matravers, Lytchett Minster and Upton.

The controversial report, published in February, aims to address Dorset's housing need by 2026, and recommended 48,100 new homes in south-east Dorset - more than double that recommended for the area in the draft strategy.

Purbeck District Council has already voted unanimously to "condemn and deplore the plans" and put together a £20,000 war chest to fight it.

Margaret Cheetham, a senior planning officer, said the council was already employing consultants and working with environmental groups to build a case, and would begin consulting to "get a flavour of local opposition".

She added: "We don't want a planning application to come in and be unprepared. We need to have our arguments ready in advance."

Terry Stewart, president of Dorset Campaign to Protect Rural England, warned of the impact such a development would have on quality of life.

And Annette Brooke MP said she was angered by the plans, and at the refusal of her three requests to make representations to the panel which produced the housing figures.

She added: "How many of these houses will go to our children and grandchildren? We have people coming in from outside, purchasing second homes - the prices will be high. There is no guarantee for local young people."

Hazel Blears, secretary of state for Communities and Local Government, is considering the draft Regional Spatial Strategy and her recommendations are expected this summer. That will be followed by a 12-week public consultation, with the final decision due by the end of the year.