Crossways parish council has questioned proposals for up to 700 new homes for the area put forward in the local plan proposals.

It says if the area has more it will turn from a village into a town – altering its character forever.

Land at both the Woodsford Estate and Moigne Combe Estate have previously been identified for the majority of new housing in and around the village.

Crossways Parish Council says it is not against the general concepts of change and growth but this must be justifiable for the village and needs the infrastructure to go with it.

"It has to be sustainable for the community and must not be just a mathematical exercise in order to satisfy a plan on paper. Crossways Parish Council believes that there are significant benefits of concentrating development in locations where homes, jobs and facilities will be easily accessible and there is a choice of transport. Whilst Crossways can provide some of this to a lesser extent the more sustainable locations within Dorset are to be found nearer larger settlements such as Dorchester, Weymouth & Portland and Sherborne," said a statement from the parish.

It says that since the last consultation exercise planning permission has been granted for a further 744 homes in the Crossways area and if a further 700 were approved it could be heading towards having more homes than initially suggested in the current local plan.

"Crossways should not be subjected to a greater scale of development than would otherwise be needed in this location and not be required to meet some of the wider needs of the Dorchester area in the longer term.

"Crossways Parish Council does not wish to see Crossways become a continual building site for the next 20—30 years which will cause great disturbance and inconvenience to existing residents as the proposed housing developments encircle most of Crossways," said the council statement.

"Crossways Parish Council believe that any proposed increase will change Crossways from a village to a town and this will significantly alter its character which will be detrimental to its existing community, not retain its rural feel and not enhance its sense of community… whatever development may be forthcoming it is extremely important that consideration is given to all the infrastructure that will be needed (particularly the existing roads which will need extensive upgrading) and community facilities."

A new village hall is being proposed as part of one of the current housing schemes, but the parish council says it has still not seen the legal agreement for this.

The parish says that while it supports economic development in the area it does not believe that land to the south west of the village, south of Warmwell Road, is justifiable as employment land and points out that other planned commercial developments, including a site adjoining Oaklands Park, have not progressed.