NEW homes are to be built on the site of garages in Chestnut Way, Dorchester – despite neighbour's concerns about the next-door waste depot.

Original plans for the site, two years ago, were withdrawn by Magna Housing after concerns from neighbours.

They had warned of summertime smells and early morning noise from the refuse lorries which are based on the industrial estate just behind the garages.

Since then a professional noise and air quality surveys have been carried out which found that the site presents a 'negligible to low' risk of adverse noise, without additional mitigation measures in place.

In response Magna re-designed the properties with no habitable rooms facing the waste depot and some windows changed – with the addition of a 2.2metre acoustic fence along the northern boundary of the site.

Magna Housing has now been given permission to demolish the row of garages and build four homes on the site, two 3-bed homes and two 1-bed flats.

In a letters of objection to Dorset Council over the original scheme several neighbours warned of the smell from dustcarts in the summer and said there would also be a need to ensure that the sewage system in the area is able to cope with the additional homes as there had been flooding in nearby roads in the past.

Wessex Water say the problem can be solved by upgrading it maintenance regime.

"The smell from refuse vehicles is disgusting, particularly in hot weather, and refuse vehicles are parked just over the northern border of this site," said one letter of objection.

Another warned of diesel fumes from the dustcarts as drivers leave the vehicles running to warm them up in the early hours of the morning, especially in winter.

Dorchester Town Council, in its comments, raised no objection to the proposals, welcoming the retention of existing trees and new landscaping as part of the plan.