THE green light has been given for 500 new homes at Littlemoor, Weymouth with building work expected to take eight years.

The homes will be on farmland owned mainly by Cambridge University Colleges to the north side of the Littlemoor Road with space reserved for a future shopping centre; business units, possibly including a hotel; school; play areas and other open spaces.

Thirty five per cent of the homes, 175, will be ‘affordable’, both for rent and mixed ownership, with most of these to be built in the earlier of the four phases and managed by Abri Housing Association.

In total more than 23,000 new trees will be planted around the site, the majority of these to go into the ground during the early days of the development so they are maturing when the first homes are occupied.

Talks about the site have been continuing for more than six years with outline planning consent granted in 2020.

On Thursday Dorset councillors unanimously agreed the final details of the housing – including road layouts, landscaping and house styles.

Further approvals will be needed later for the details of two road junctions for the site and for the school and business uses.

Local councillor Louie O’Leary, who is a life-long Littlemoor resident, called for changes to some aspects of the scheme, including the road accesses, pedestrian crossings and an extension of the 30mph limit.

He also asked for the payments the developers will make to a range of local projects to be reconsidered to ensure Littlemoor residents directly benefit.

He told Thursday's planning committee that initially he was the only councillor to vote against the scheme but now recognised the inevitability of it although remained determined to see a good deal for residents.

Cllr Roland Tarr, whose ward includes much of the rural area immediately north of Littlemoor, said he was in a similar position in accepting the homes would be coming.

He said that a "first-class consultation" and hard work by council officers and the developers had much improved the original proposals which he described as being “a bit shoddy to begin with. It was a back of an enveloped design, but it has been massively upgraded.”

He said he still believed the development, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, was the wrong place for so many homes, within sight of the World Heritage Coast.

“I have not got a single person in my ward who supported it…I’m still shocked and sad but I know you have to approve it,” he told the area planning committee. He said that Thomas Hardy had once taken Rudyard Kipling to the ridgeway above the site to show him how beautiful Dorset was.

Agent Brett Spiller from Lovell Homes told councillors: “We will deliver beautiful homes and spaces, ensuring a high quality living environment for future residents.”

He said the scheme would help make an impact on the 10,500 people locally on the waiting list for housing.

The scheme will provide 15 one-bed homes; 184 two-bed; 237 three-bed and 64 four-bed in a wide range of styles including a small number of bungalows.