Although this article is not specifically about Corfe Mullen, it does show the problem that is being faced by this area as a whole.

BOURNEMOUTH, Poole and Christchurch will be merged into one giant conurbation with no green land between them.

That is the fear of locals who have been told to accept thousands more homes over the next few years - including 1,000 on Bournemouth's vanishing green belt.

The South West Regional Assembly, which advises the government on how many homes should be built in the region, has left local planners furious by demanding much more housing than they say is sustainable.

Between now and 2026, the assembly is demanding:

• 880 homes a year in Bournemouth
• 545 a year in Poole
• 190 a year in Christchurch
• 270 a year in East Dorset

Bournemouth's target includes an average of 50 homes a year on the town's green belt - most of which would come in large quantities towards the end of the period.

Ken Mantock, chairman of Bournemouth council's planning board, said: "It's not just Bournemouth that's getting stuffed, it's the whole of the county."

He added: "If what they want takes place - and we will fight them at every opportunity - we will just merge into one vast conurbation. None of us is going to stand for it."

Planners are also angry that the regional assembly will not support government funding for road improvements.

Schemes which are in doubt include a link between the A338 spur road and Bournemouth Airport and improvements to the A35 and A31 - as well as a Weymouth relief road which was to provide faster access to Olympic sailing sites in 2012.

Angela Pooley, spokeswoman for East Dorset Friends of the Earth, said the housing targets would be disastrous.

"Bournemouth is becoming so urbanised, we're just merging into a big Bournemouth-Poole-Christchurch conurbation. We need our green space for qualify of life."

A South West Regional Assembly spokesperson said: "The Regional Assembly and the South East Dorset Joint Study Area have been working together to identify how growth in the sub-region can best be managed in the future.

"It is important that the new regional spatial strategy (RSS), which will replace the former Bournemouth, Dorset, Poole Structure Plan, contains a realistic assessment of future housing needs bearing in mind future economic growth prospects, environmental issues, the need to reuse brownfield land and the transport implications of development.

Last night Bournemouth cabinet members voted unanimously to tell the assembly that land at north Bournemouth should remain green belt and that proposed housing numbers are totally unacceptable.

Councillors also recommended that support should be sought from MPs and that they should explore the possibility of a joint cabinet meeting between the cabinets of Bournemouth and Dorset councils.