Protesters gathered at Bucky Doo Square in opposition to a new multi-million pound 73-property scheme at the former Hanson and current JC Phillips sites off South Street, and called for more affordable housing in the town.
Planning permission for the project has been refused – but applicant Churchill Living is appealing the decision which has gone to an inquiry this week at Dorset Council.
However Dorset Council has said it will not be defending its decision to refuse planning permission due to legal costs and the fact that it is unable to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.
Community organisation Homes Bridport People Can Afford organised the demonstration with local councillors Sarah Carney and Anne Rickard, expressing their own personal views on the proposals and an urged the need for affordable housing for young families and working people over retirement homes.
Kerrigan Lawrence, a mum of two young children addressed the crowd and voiced her concerns as a young family who can’t afford to get on the housing market, despite both her and her husband working.
Protesters marched down South Street displaying handmade placards in opposition to the retirement complex and called for more affordable housing.
Til Jeaune, a 28-year-old woman who works in the hospitality industry, said: “I have just moved back for a little bit but I can speak for me and all my friends who are 28 plus, and are living with their parents.
“Because even on the standard jobs around, a lot are minimum wage, and there is no way to be able to afford a lot of the housing that is available, unless you share with loads of people.
“We really desperately need to give housing to people that want to live here that are young that are working and will bring a huge amount to the community.
“It’s just really depressing and there are just no places to live – it is a pretty bleak situation.”
Ella Squirrell, a 30-year-old self employed artist, pointed to high rents also being an issue.
She said: “It’s really hard to afford renting let alone even considering a mortgage. Renting is massive difficulty.
“As a single person at 30, anyone relying on benefits is only entitled to £392 a month towards housing, so it’s really difficult for people on a low income to live independently.”
Local councillor Dave Bowell joined the march and was concerned that despite Dorset Council, Bridport Town Council and local residents opposing the project, it could still go ahead.
He said: “We are still faced with an inquiry that could actually overturn all of that.
“(The proposed development) would ruin our town, with more and more retirement properties. We do need affordable housing for young people as well as employment for young people.”
Land owned by JC Phillips & Sons, a building material supplier adjacent to the former Hanson site, is part of the plans for the new retirement complex.
Owner David Weston, said he was he had to sell the site due to access which comes through the land owned by Hanson, but also wanted to retire.
He had no problem with protest but did point to plenty of other sites where affordable housing – which he also welcomed – could be built.
He said: “We are still operating as a company, as we have done since 1901 and will continue to do so until such a time as planning goes one way or another.
“I have been here personally for 44 years this year and we have come to the stage were we need to retire.
“We do need affordable housing but when you have land here that has been empty for five or six years, like the Fisherman’s Arms site and the Mountjoy site to name but two, there is plenty of land for affordable housing. But nobody will these days as it costs too much money.”
In response to the protest a spokesperson for Churchill Living previously said the developers are “committed to regenerating” the vacant and disused site to deliver “much needed” new homes for older people in Bridport.
They added: “The demand for specialist retirement housing is very different from the general housing market. Many older residents in and around Bridport want to remain in the community they know, close to friends, services and public transport, but cannot find suitable, safe, purpose-built homes locally.
“Providing this type of accommodation helps people live independently for longer, reduces pressure on local health and care services, and gives local people real choice about how and where they want to grow older.
“Importantly, creating dedicated homes for older people also has a positive ripple effect across the wider housing market. When someone downsizes from a larger, under-occupied property, it frees up a family home for others in the area – helping the community without building on greenfield land.”