Eco & Environment, Wimborne | Posted on April 24th, 2026 | return to news

Colehill’s ‘green lung’ saved from development – for now

Discussion regarding the planning application for land off Birchdale Road, Colehill, lasted more than three hours.

Residents packed into the Allendale Centre in Wimborne on Wednesday 22 April to illustrate their concerns about an outline application by Nightingale Land for the development of 49 properties on 5.5 hectares of land off Birchdale Road, Colehill.

As regular readers of this magazine will know, local people have repeatedly expressed their opposition to a development on this green lung between Wimborne and Colehill.

An application in June last year for a 55-property development was refused for several reasons.

One of the speakers at the discussion — which lasted for more than three hours — was Jill Whitfield, who said: “This proposal would force all construction and heavy goods traffic through a narrow residential cul-de-sac, directly beside a newly registered Village Green. This green is legally protected under the Commons Act 2006, intended as a safe space for recreation. Yet this plan would place frequent HGV movements, estimated by the applicant to be 275 per day, right alongside the Green—bringing noise, danger and constant risk to an area meant for peace.

“Existing conditions already present challenges. Pavement parking already occurs due to the narrow width, but with frequent HGV traffic, cars would be forced onto pavements to let large vehicles pass, removing safe pedestrian space and forcing people into the road. At the same time, these constraints create a real risk that HGVs and parked vehicles could block each other altogether, delaying or preventing emergency service access. This is a serious and unacceptable safety risk.”

Another speaker, Dr Lesie Haskins from the Erica Trust, cited wildlife issues, namely biodiversity loss, SANG provision and ecological network impact.

She said: “The included loss of a large swathe of internationally protected native bluebells seems to be overlooked. This priority grassland is the base of a vital food chain, providing, amongst other things, insects for the bats — you cannot mitigate for a protected species whose vital food supply is so diminished! Various proposed onsite compensations are either insignificant or highly questionable — notably trying to force already useful bracken into acid grassland.”

Council officers had recommended refusal of the application on a number of grounds, including that the proposal would be inappropriate development in the green belt. It would also erode the separate physical identity of the individual settlements of Colehill and Wimborne. Special circumstances to justify granting permission did not therefore exist.

The eight members of the planning committee who were present voted unanimously to refuse the application.