CONCERNS have been raised about a striking new home being proposed at Ringstead – to replace an existing property.

The modern design has attracted objections from neighbours, although it also has supporters, including an immediate neighbour.

Planning agents for the Parry family, which have owned Neptune House for 25 years, say the existing building, overlooking the sea, is a concrete frame three storey home, built in 1970, with later additions.

Said a statement to Dorset Council from Wareham-based Morgan Carey Architects acting for the family: “Neptune House is not of architectural or aesthetic significance. It does not enhance the character of the Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty or setting of The Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, which it is in proximity to.”

Their report says that parts of the building are suffering from corrosion, commonly called ‘concrete cancer’, reducing the effective thickness and strength and likely to get worse. The architects say that continually making repairs would be ‘economically prohibitive,’ with a replacement home providing a more sustainable long-term solution, and also offering better energy efficiency.

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The company say the replacement house will have a similar footprint to the existing building and will only be slightly bigger: “The existing three-storey, north-south orientation will be rotated by 90° to allow the primary rooms to benefit from the existing southern sea views. The overall bulk of the side profile of the building will be significantly reduced, resulting in a dwelling of less imposing massing and scale to its immediate neighbouring, Shambles (west) and Faraway (east),” said the architects, adding that owners closest to Neptune House either actively supported the proposal or did not wish to object.

However, since the scheme has been open for public comment several residents have objected – one claiming that the increase in size would detract from the character of the area: “The general impression of the proposal is of a building of significantly larger scale and mass, at all levels, which would dominate that part of Ringstead,” said Sarah Wallis, warning that, if approved, it might set a precedent.

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Said another objector, with a London address, supported by another with an Oxfordshire main home: “the proposed roofline has been infilled and ‘brought forward’ compared with current dormer windows, and the proposed huge white front elevation will be far more intrusive especially from the sea; the proposed size and design are completely out of scale with the surroundings.”

Support for the application came from an immediate neighbour and an East Creek resident, Hilary Fisher, who wrote: “The layout and density of the proposal fits its plot well and the design will be of benefit to the area. Calling for no change to buildings etc at Ringstead does not allow the hamlet to improve, or for changes that will be an improvement to the character of Ringstead. This proposal would be a change for the good.”

Osmington Parish Council has submitted a ‘no comment’ on the application.

Public comments on the proposals remain open until February 15 – Dorset Council planning reference, 2023/00286.