A VILLAGE between Dorchester and Wool is being asked to take a development for a travelling show family with four caravans and four other buildings.

A planning application has been submitted to Dorset Council for a site off the Dorchester Road at Winfrith Newburgh, close to the Red Lion pub and off a track where a solar farm is being developed.

The proposal comes from a couple, Mr and Mrs O'Connell, who currently live at Harmans Cross.

The site is on the east side of The Drove and the north of Dorchester Road (A352) covering a farm field almost the size of two football pitches and allows for the parking of up to 12 vehicles. A row of cottage and a farm is opposite the site, which is shielded by existing trees and hedgerows.

Access to the site is proposed off The Drove track which has already been improved for a solar park being developed at North Fossil Farm.

The agent says the site is intended for use by the couple and their immediate family, member of the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain.

It asks for four caravans and four storage building for keeping their rides and other equipment with the site to be shielded by existing hedgerows and by building an earth bund.

The agent argues that Dorset Council needs to identify sites for travelling people and lists a series of other places in the wider area which have been approved in recent years, including seven plots for travelling show people at Cokers Frome near Dorchester. It says the authority currently has no sites earmarked for travelling show people.

The application says that during show season, from Easter to early November, vehicle access to and from the site will be very low as most of the family will be working away.

The agent argues that with an improvement in biodiversity for the site the use of the field will bring benefits to the area: "In terms of economic benefits, the proposal will create employment opportunities during the construction phase and the eventual occupants will benefit the economy over the long-term through an increased demand for goods, services and trades to support and enhance local employment. The development will also generate additional income for the council through the New Homes Bonus as the residential plots for travelling show people will be registered for Council Tax."

Comments on the proposal can be submitted to Dorset Council by October 9th. The council planning reference is 2025/04705.