Following a presentation at the village hall by the marketing company Messrs DevComms, Action4Alderholt gleaned residents’ views as they left.

Whilst they were unable to speak to everyone, some 109 people said they were totally against the project whilst only one person was in favour and only on condition that the access roads to the village were vastly improved.

Chris Walker, chairman of Action4Alderholt said: “It was surprising that nobody was present from Dudsbury Homes who are promoting the scheme. Nobody there was able to answer fundamental questions like ‘who will build this scheme, how long will it take and how will you attract the employment you’re promising?’

“We have checked with Dorset Council and this scheme is not in any draft local plan and not in line with current planning policies.”

Mr Walker said the leaflet delivered to every house in the village contained more ‘hopes’ than facts.

He added: “The main concern of the villagers would seem to be the poor quality of the four access roads to Alderholt and their ability to cope with in excess of an estimated 3,500 extra vehicles travelling down roads with narrow pinch points and single lane bridges. As these are mostly the responsibility of Hampshire Roads Authority, any upgrades are an extremely remote possibility.”

Mr Walker urged people to support their group by sending their views to the Dorset planners with a copy to action4alderholt@gmail.com.