A FRESH set of plans have been submitted for the site of a former auction house in Wareham after the developer’s previous proposals were refused by councillors.

Renaissance Retirement, the company behind the town’s Fleur-de-Lis complex, is hoping its latest plans for nine homes on the Cottees plot will be approved.

The proposals are similar to those rejected in July, but in a letter to Purbeck District Council’s head of planning, Simon McFarlane, associate director of planning at Renaissance Retirement, said the revised scheme included a “considered redesign of the dwellings fronting East Street”.

“This followed extensive additional consultation with neighbours and the Town Trust and we hope that the proposed amendments will satisfactorily address their concerns,” he said.

District councillors said the previous scheme did not “preserve the character and appearance of the Wareham Conservation Area” as it featured detached houses and a bungalow, in contrast to the terraced housing on East Street.

Mr McFarlane said the new scheme would see an additional dwelling built on East Street and the gaps between houses reduced to create a “more continuous frontage” that is in keeping with the surrounding area.

The bungalow previously proposed has been redesigned as a one-and-a-half storey cottage.

The scheme also features a courtyard at the centre of the site and houses fronting Wyatt’s Lane.

“The application presents an opportunity to regenerate a redundant, previously developed commercial site,” Mr McFarlane said.

“The proposals have been influenced by the design guidance of Wareham’s Conservation Area, and have been designed to reflect the prevailing character and pattern of the town’s key historic streets, which generally date to late Georgian and early Victorian period.”

Cottees Auctions moved into new premises in Poole towards the end of 2015. When the move was first announced, Cottees asked residents to have their say on what should happen to the site.