Dorset planners are being asked to approve a new home for Dorchester's ballet and dance centre at the Sandringham sports centre off Armada Way.

The application has led to 21 letters supporting the move and 10 against.

The dance centre, which has a 60-year history in the town, wants to build a single storey building in the sports centre car park with a pitched roof which would result in the loss of about 15 parking spaces.

It says it needs to move from its current home on the town's Poundbury industrial estate, having outgrown the building.

The Sandringham site is run by Dorchester Town Council and is also home to the town's bowls club with a separate building nearby used as a shooting range for the rifle and pistol club. The car park is used occasionally for motorcycle training with a boules pitch in the corner of the car park which the town council say could be moved to one of the other sites it manages.

The shooting club has expressed reservations about the new building proposal – worried that building works could disturb their shooting range and that any further building in the area might add to occasional flooding. It is also worried about the loss of parking and says it is important, for security reasons, that its members can park close to the club building.

Dorchester Bowls Club has also written to express concerns over the potential loss of car parking as have a number of neighbouring homeowners, some saying they are also worried about the potential for additional noise up until 10pm and extra parking in residential roads on busy days.

Letters have also been lodged in favour of the ballet and dance centre application saying that the site would be better than the existing building at Poundbury industrial estate which suffers from poor lighting in the evenings and a lack of parking.

Dorchester Town Council has declined to comment on the application because of its interest in the Sandringham site but ward councillor Molly Rennie has written in support of the proposals.

The decision will be made by the northern area planning committee which meets this Thursday, July 29 at 2pm.