VILLAGERS have hit out at proposals to build a park and ride facility on the outskirts of Dorch-ester.

Residents of Martinstown voiced their opposition to the plans at a meeting with planning consultants for the scheme and West Dorset District Council planning officers.

The council began its search for a new park and ride facility in the Dorchester area in 2007 and later narrowed it down to two proposed sites at Monkey’s Jump roundabout to the west of Dorchester and stadium roundabout to the south.

Planning officers put forward Monkey’s Jump as the preferred choice, claiming it had more capacity and was £1.2million cheaper, however the council’s executive committee agreed to go out to consultation on both sites.

Martinstown residents angry at the Monkey’s Jump proposal have set up a ‘Say No’ campaign to raise awareness in the community and voice their opposition.

Villagers are concerned about the fact that access to the site would be off the C53 road between Monkey’s Jump and Dorchester and the impact it would have on traffic through the village.

Geoffrey Troup, 48, who is part of the ‘Say No’ campaign group, said: “The reason for building the relief road was to push traffic down the relief road and not through the villages.”

Mr Troup said the site, which would be on Duchy of Cornwall land, also extends development past the A35 – something the planning brief for Poundbury promised to avoid.

He added: “There is also going to be quite a visual impact, from Maiden Castle you are just going to see the car park. There’s going to be light pollution, with the site operating seven days a week and noise which travels dramatically.”

Martinstown resident Roger Barry, 82, said he feared the park and ride at Monkey’s Jump would force motorists to use the village as a ‘rat run’ to get to and from the site.

He said: “It’s a stupid idea. The traffic levels through here will be enormous and it will make the congestion on the C53 even worse than it is at the moment.”

Bruce and Maggie Robertson, who have lived in the village for 10 years, raised concerns about the visual impact of the scheme on the surrounding countryside.

Mr Robertson, 71, said: “To my mind it’s got totally inadequate screening.”

Mrs Robertson, 70, added: “It’s not just Maiden Castle you will be able to see it from, you could see it from Came Down, from Hardy’s Monument and all along the Ridgeway.”

The ‘Say No’ group has submitted a list of 30 specific questions that they want answered by West Dorset District Council and are also calling for an extension of the consultation period beyond the current deadline of April 28 so residents can be fully informed about the proposals.

It has also asked for a detailed breakdown of the cost estimates for the two alternative sites.