An expansion of a site for the storage of caravans, boats and motorhomes near Dorchester has been refused by Dorset Council

Town Hill Farm at Frampton asked approval for an additional compound alongside an existing storage site at Hogleaze Storage and Self Store. The site is directly north of Winterbourne Abbas off the Roman Road.

A letter to the council said the applicant had a waiting list of more than 80 caravans the business is unable to accommodate without the extra room. The extension woud have allowed an additional 40 spaces on an area of just under a hectare.

The site is said to be top-rated, open all year round with a locked, gated entrance and sophisticated security.

An application letter says the site is popular with holidaymakers heading further west and those holidaying in Dorset, which has increased in recent years.

A council landscape report concluded that while the existing site fitted with the area's landscape the extension would not integrate well into the setting with additional embankments and a new compound.

"The large scale engineered bunds, which would be clearly visible from public vantage points, by reason of their mass and scale, would erode the undeveloped, natural, rural character of the area," said the report.