Habitat First Group welcomes initial planning permission approval for Silverlake in Dorset

Up to 750 jobs are expected to be created, alongside hundreds of millions of pounds of construction investment, with the building of Silverlake at Warmwell Quarry.

Today, West Dorset District Council’s Planning Committee passed a resolution to approve outline planning permission for Silverlake, enabling the project to move to the next stage of detailed planning as well as initial marketing.

Silverlake will offer high-quality holiday accommodation as well as world-class nature conservation on the site of the existing Warmwell Quarry. The site is currently used for large-scale sand and gravel extraction, with hundreds of heavy lorries passing through the area each year, but quarrying is due to cease by 2017.

Habitat First Group, which also owns award-winning and high-quality sustainable holiday accommodation in the Cotswolds, is planning to develop the quarry, building up to 1,000 holiday chalets and lodges, a country club and spa and protecting hundreds of species of wildlife on the 560 acre site, as well as reinvigorating the local economy.

Silverlake will be a key economic driver for the future of the West Dorset economy, encouraging inward investment, local spending and further employment. The construction stage alone is expected to generate £470million over a 20 to 30 year period, of which over half would be spent with local businesses.

573 construction jobs would be created, 286 of them with local firms and another 180 full-time jobs would be created on the site of the completed Silverlake scheme. Another 270 indirect jobs are also expected from visitor spend in the area.

Will Vicary, Managing Director of Habitat First Group, commented: “We are pleased that the councillors closely examining the plans for Silverlake have approved our request for Outline planning permission. We are planning to create a truly unique concept for Dorset which boosts the economy, protects and manages the environment and benefits the local community with a long-term strategic plan for the quarry.”

Will Vicary added: “We have been highly consistent in our vision and our approach of working closely with the local community. Silverlake provides a sustainable solution to the future of the quarry and will also supply an economic benefit which will be felt across the local region – from Crossways to Dorchester, from Weymouth to Poundbury and the Heritage Coast. Silverlake delivers nature conservation and landscape management at the highest level and firmly ties in with the key objectives in the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework and West Dorset District Council’s local planning strategy.”

Habitat First Group has been consulting with the local community for over a year and engaged in detailed discussions with local parish councils, local residents, Natural England, Dorset Wildlife Trust, RSPB and the Dorset County Ecologist.

Warmwell Quarry used to include a former World War Two airfield, RAF Warmwell, which dates back to 1937 and was a key component in the defence of the country. A number of important relics remain and will be preserved as an integral part of the development.

Silverlake will create an environment of wide open spaces, high-quality landscaping and recreationfacilities for local people, as well as use creative design built on the key principles of sustainability, energy efficiency and biodiversity.

The aim throughout is to protect and encourage wildlife at the site, with species surveys having been carried out to identify the key areas of ecological importance for breeding birds, reptiles, dormouse, otter, water vole, invertebrates and bats for example. During 2012, a team of ecologists, hydrologists, engineers, landscape architects, archaeologists and transport advisers assessed the site in detail.

As well as the development of the site itself, which is very well concealed from its immediate surroundings, the plans include a focus on supporting the local tourist economy while protecting the environment – with the use of buses linking Silverlake with Moreton Station, Dorchester, Weymouth, Poundbury and the coast, as well as the creation of cycling and foot paths so as to discourage car use.

About Habitat First Group
Habitat First creates private, vacation home communities that share a love for mother nature. By combining excellence in architecture, interior design, facilities, security and service, homeowners can escape from the rigours of big city living. Habitat First offers an oasis of space where families can holiday comfortably and responsibly, safely explore and re-energise in acres and acres of natural habitat.