A 200-home extension to Dorchester will be the final phase of Prince Charles' Poundbury housing project.

The 30-year venture has brought global attention to the county town, a host of Royal and other dignitaries, as well as countless jobs over the period.

Dorset Council is now being asked to sign off the details of the final phase, the North West Quadrant, which will run parallel to the western bypass from a starting point just beyond the town's fire station running down the slope towards the A37 from Great Cranford Street.

Mayor Richard Biggs say the proposals look like being the best phase yet: "It's pretty much the last bit and they've saved the best for last. I like some of the designs," he said, although he says he is keen to remind the developers of their commitment to increase the network of footpaths.

"In the past some haven't materialised," he said.

He and fellow Dorchester town councillors have welcomed the detailed planning application which, like other stages of the development, will offer a range of house sizes and type with more than a third being social housing. Building heights in the phase will vary from one to four storey with key buildings providing a focus at strategic points.

Open 'squares' will also feature in this phase with a large central park-style area, Rosedale Square, which will use a variety of tree species.

Around 500 square metres of shop and office units feature in the designs, some fronting existing shop and office units at the existing edge of the development.

The Duchy documents submitted with the application say this final phase is inspired by the Edwardian Garden Movement and, as such, will give the area its own distinct character, best described, the documents say, as a 'garden village.'

A Duchy of Cornwall spokesman said that, at the current build rate, the scheme should be finished in 2028.

Comments on the detailed proposals, which runs to hundreds of pages and can be seen on the Dorset Council website, should be submitted to Dorset Council by February 23.