FEARS that a group of holiday homes at Chideock could end up as a "retirement village" were expressed at a meeting of district council planners last week.

The warning came as members of the development control west committee approved year-round use of three more holiday cottages adjacent to Willowhayne Farm.

Members were told that the units were currently required to remain unoccupied between January 15 and March 15 each year - so that they could not become permanent residences.

Senior planning officer Andrew Jordan said the units were created in 1991 from a barn conversion. Six others built in the farmyard nearby had already been granted relief of a similar occupancy condition in 2001.

Mr Jordan said this was because it was now council policy to grant all year round holiday use of such properties to help the rural economy.

But the meeting heard that Chideock Parish Council opposed the application and ward councillor Gillian Summers said it could become the thin end of the wedge. The holiday cottages had been sold off to individual owners and she wondered what was to stop them occupying them all year round as permanent homes.

"No officer goes out to check to my knowledge," she said.

"We could end up with a retirement village - is this what we want on the heritage coast?"

Coun Ron Coatsworth said he could not see how they could enforce the holiday-use only condition.

"But unless we send an enforcement officer to spy on them that's how it will be," he said. "I don't like the 12 months use."

Development services manager John Greenslade said even banning occupancy for two months in the winter did not necessarily work, either.

"Even with a two month break there are people who are happy to occupy it for 10 months and then spend two months abroad," he said.

Members agreed to approve the application but reiterate the condition that occupation of the cottages was for holiday purposes only.