A final decision on the principle of an 80-home development in Broadmayne, near Dorchester, will be made this week.

Dorset councillors have already agreed a 'minded to' decision to give outline consent to the controversial scheme.

It comes back to the area planning committee tomorrow (Thursday) for councillors to hear further details about proposed planning conditions and legal agreements negotiated with the developer.

At a July meeting, Dorset Council's housing portfolio holder Cllr Graham Carr-Jones made a passionate plea for the development, claiming there had not been a single affordable home built in Broadmayne or West Knighton for more than 13 years, with more than 100 people on the housing register saying they wanted to live there.

He was later rebuked by some residents, who said councillors should take level-headed decisions based only on the scheme's merits, or lack of them, and not on emotion.

Initially the plans had been for 90 homes, but have now been scaled back to 80, with housing association Abri offering 45% as 'affordable' and saying that this could be increased to 100 per cent.

There are planning concerns with the site – although surrounded by housing on three sides it lies outside the village's defined development boundary and is also adjacent to the Area of Outstanding Beauty.

Concerns have also been raised about the site access, the extra traffic the homes would bring, the loss of good farmland and the potential for flooding on at least part of the site, as well as the scale and density of the proposals.

It was claimed that the potential increase in the village population, if the development were to be allowed, would be too much for the village to cope with.

Parish council chairman Steve Diamond previously told planning committee members: "There is no pressing reason to set aside policy and no reason to sacrifice the best land."

He questioned why, back in July, there had been no legal agreements already signed to deliver a 'green' area to the north of the development; the exact percentage of affordable housing, or guarantee over the site access.

"Cynics might wonder if the benefits will ever be delivered," he said.

After a motion to refuse the scheme was lost on a majority vote, councillors agreed 'a minded to approve' proposal to give council officers time to work up the details of a set of conditions and possible legal agreements which will be discussed at the this week's meeting.

The planning application has been lodged by Southern Strategic Land LLP but it will be the housing association Abri who will bring the scheme forward, if final consent is given.

Their proposals include a mix of mainly two and three-bed homes, including bungalows with half for rent and half for sale.

The site itself is an area of open farmland with housing on three side to the south of the A352 on the western edge of the village – the field closest to the village will be used for the housing scheme with the further field maintained as a natural open area, described in the proposal as "a country park" with its own parking area.

Access to the housing site would be off Broadmead to the eastern side of the development field, with a temporary road into the site for construction traffic through the northern field, part of which is within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.