A PARISH council's plans to spend £90,000 to fight an appeal for 1700 homes has been met with objections. 

Alderholt Parish Council has agreed use the money to help fight an appeal by Dudsbury Homes to build properties in the area. 

The council has promised to cover £60,000 of the needed £90,000 but has asked the public to help raise the remaining £30,000.

As of March 14, the public has raised £22,000 for the appeal.

Ward councillor for Cranborne and Alderholt David Tooke said: "There have been a number of negative comments, a lot of which have been caused by misinformation and a lack of understanding to how council finances work.

"It doesn't mean that projects that had earmarked reserves will now be cancelled so they're still going ahead as far as we discussed last meeting. There is an idea the council has spent its entire income on this which is not true."

To combat the objections, Alderholt Parish Council have released data in regards to its spending from reserves on upcoming projects.

With a total of £200,000 of funds allocated for different projects, the council is keen to dispel worries that the spending will cause any issues.

On Facebook, the parish council said: "The decision to seek legal and expert witness representation was not taking lightly but the council firmly believes it is a worthwhile investment in the village, strengthening Dorset Council's defence of their initial rejection and ensuring the adverse impact to our parish is represented. 

"The council holds funds which are allocated to a number of projects around the village, and including the money earmarked to cover legal representation at the upcoming planning inquiry."

Cllr Tooke has said the council has met with barrister Simon Bell to discuss his representation of the council in the inquiry. 

Barrister Bell has won four out of five cases he has dealt with against Dudsbury Homes according to Cllr Tooke and believes he is the right man for the case.

Dorset Council refused the 1700 homes on nine different grounds in 2023 which included impact on environment and not meeting required amount of affordable housing.

The appeal is set to take place in July 2024.