West Dorset MP Chris Loder "strongly opposes" plans for a Dorset National Park, stating it will fuel mass development.

The MP warns that a proposal for Dorset National Park is driving large-scale development and will make most of Dorset a museum, decimating the economy, threaten local democracy and fuel mass housing developments outside of the proposed areas.

Mr Loder has spoken at several online meetings about the Dorset Council Local Plan in recent weeks. He has warned that proposals for a National Park are influencing the local plan's reliance on mass developments outside the proposed National Park area, including the development of the hundreds of acres for 4,000 homes to the north of Dorchester.

Mr Loder said: "It is becoming clearer to me that a vanity project proposing a National Park in Dorset is fuelling plans for mass development in Dorchester.

"These towns are being burdened with housing quota for the sole reason as they are not included in a future National Park. This strengthens my view that we should not have a National Park in Dorset.

"The creation of a National Park would be a historic mistake.

"Proponents of the National Park appear fixed on obtaining a brand to the detriment of our local communities, with serious implications for local democracy. Such a move would encumber Dorset with another level of bureaucracy - not two years after we got rid of half of it when we need dynamism in our recovery from the pandemic.

"This blind crusade must be opposed and our beautiful natural environment must be protected in a way that fully supports the people of Dorset."

More information about Mr Loder's campaign against a National Park for Dorset can be found on his website.

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