CHANGES to new homes on the former Eldridge Pope brewery site in Dorchester have been welcomed by town councillors – although some owners of nearby homes say they will be overshadowed and lose their privacy.

Town councillors have welcomed the reduction in height and other alterations to the former Maltings building and a proposed new Maltings Mews development, alongside.

The application was first submitted two years ago but has now been amended following consultations with residents and council officers.

Among the changes are a new road layout, the removal of the fourth floor of The Maltings Mews with internal floor heights also reduced to further decrease the overall bulk of the building.

Architects claims this will limit any overbearing on Prince of Wales Road properties although will see a reduction for the developers from 33 to 27 flats in the Mews building.

A further 43 flats are proposed for the Maltings main building, once ear-marked for a new theatre and arts centre for Dorchester.

The Maltings building new plans remove first floor balconies and solar panels with conservation-style roof lights incorporated into the design.

Artist's impression: The converted Maltings Building with New Maltings Mews behind

Dorchester Civic Society says it largely welcomes the design changes but shares residents' concerns, saying: "The larger development at the East end of the building has been criticised by local residents. We are sympathetic to their concerns and would ask the applicants to consider removing the top storey, rather than having a sloping roof."

The Society is also critical of the lack of 'green' energy solutions in the design pointing out that much of the roof space is ideal for solar panels which are not included, and says the 'green' proposals could go even further: "We would suggest that an efficient community heat pump serving the whole building and powered from solar panels on the roof would be competitive, forward looking and, most significantly, have far smaller carbon footprint."

One neighbour from Prince of Wales Road says while they raise no objections over the conversion of the Maltings building, the re-design of the new Maltings Mews block continues to cause concerns: "The currently designed structure will have a demonstrable extensive and adverse impact upon our sense of wellbeing and that of our neighbours, due to the overwhelming sense of over-looking and sheer massing in close – proximity to our properties that the proposal would create.

"The proposal will visually detract from both the adjacent historic asset The Maltings and the Conservation Area itself."

The New Maltings Mews Block (left) and converted Maltings Building

Another neighbour complains of the length of the planning process while another says he was not aware of the changes until after the deadline: "The uncertainty created is making our lives difficult in the extreme and causes any thoughts of moving to be shelved, not least because we can't tell prospective purchasers what is going to happen."

Another neighbour says that while the reduction in height is appreciated – "the proposed Maltings Mews remains overbearing and out of context of both the Listed buildings in Brewery Square, and the Victorian Conservation Zone houses in Prince Of Wales Road… there will be a significant loss of privacy to all the houses on Prince Of Wales Rd; the gardens would be heavily overlooked, as well as all rooms on the rear of those houses; the first storey rooms on Prince Of Wales Rd will be in the shadow of the new building."