Wessex tale of woe Hardy village clash over Labour homes policy

Thomas Hardy described the fictional village of Marlott as being in an "engirdled and secluded region, for the most part untrodden as yet by tourist or landscape painter, though within a four hours' journey from London".

- Jamie Grierson

But the Victorian novelist would barely recognise Marnhull, the Dorset village upon which Marlott was based, and would probably be surprised to know his name is repeatedly evoked in official submissions arguing against its expansion.

Nestled in the Blackmore Vale, the opening backdrop for Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Marnhull is a patchwork of hamlets with a hotchpotch of architectural styles.

In recent months an acrimonious row has broken out over plans to build up to 120 homes, which residents fear will merely be "phase one" of a wider village expansion and which has underlined some of the tensions rising out of the Labour government's drive to build more homes.

Dorset council refused permission for the development in July 2024, but this was successfully appealed by the landowner following an inquiry by the national planning inspectorate, which took Labour's housing requirements into account.