Planning and development

Dorset Wildlife Trust works to promote positive outcomes in planning, whether that is fighting damaging proposals or pushing for well-designed and strategic enhancements for biodiversity to obtain the maximum benefit for wildlife.  

We are not anti-development and we recognise the need for housing and infrastructure that supports the economy and our local area, but we will seek to ensure that the right development happens in the right places. 

We work closely with planners and ecologists at Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council to ensure that planning decisions are made on a sound ecological basis and supported by the appropriate evidence. We also liaise closely with Natural England and other conservation organisations including the RSPB and Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) on applications which affect important sites and species. 

We have limited capacity and are not able to respond to every application, so we focus on those with potentially detrimental impacts on important wildlife sites and protected species, and also where access to nature reserves or greenspace is threatened. Dorset Wildlife Trust will particularly prioritise planning applications which have the potential to affect our nature reserves or Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCIs).

Dorset Wildlife Trust also works to ensure that wildlife and biodiversity priorities are built into local strategic planning at an early stage. We are a consultee on Local Plan documents and other spatial planning matters such as neighbourhood plans and supplementary planning documents. These set policies and future patterns of development and we place a high priority on influencing their content to ensure that they describe a sustainable future for conservation of nature in Dorset. 

Both Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council are beginning the process of producing new Local Plans that will shape development in their respective areas. Dorset Council has recently consulted at an early stage on priorities for the plan, including opportunity sites for residential, employment and traveller use. BCP Council will be developing their new Local Plan under a revised plan-making process, expected to be published early in 2026, and we anticipate an early-stage consultation for the BCP Council Area in 2026. 

We will update this page with our latest responses to these consultations  

Download our most recent responses to the Local Plan consultations below. 

Planning affects everyone and everyone also has the power to influence planning outcomes, both as individuals and communities.  

As an organisation Dorset Wildlife Trust has limited capacity to respond to planning applications so we do have to prioritise the most significant cases and are not able to respond to all applications which may have an impact on biodiversity. 

Download our guidance below to help find out how you and your community can also make your concerns heard:

Save your site  

How to comment on a planning application

We will developing further resources and training in future to help communities influence local planning decisions and achieve the best outcomes for nature. If you are interested in keeping up to date as opportunities develop, please email planning@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk 

If you have a specific planning query, please contact the Trust’s planning officer at planning@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk. 

If your question relates to a planning application, it would be helpful if you could include the application number in your email.  

The Wildlife Trusts have a vision for housing that works for people and wildlife, find out more here.