THOUSANDS of new houses are planned for across the Cotswolds after a controversial development blueprint was approved by councillors.

A total of 7,500 houses - up from the previous figure of 6,900 - have been earmarked for 17 areas after Cotswold District Council's cabinet agreed on the draft Local Plan, despite fierce criticism.

More than 4,500 of these homes have already received planning permission or been built since 2011 as part of the plan, which sets out housing development up to 2031.

The blueprint - which also includes sites for business space - will now go out for public consultation between January 16 and February 27 before being finalised.

Cirencester's Chesterton area will receive the majority of housing, with 2,350 properties - down from the previous figure of 2,500 - proposed.

This has sparked outrage among many residents, with campaign group Save Our Cirencester gathering 2,700 signatures on a petition against the development.

They fear that Cirencester will not be able to cope with the impact 2,350 new homes would have on local infrastructure such as the roads and schools, and also oppose the loss of green space.

Patrick Moylan, a member of Save Our Cirencester, attended the cabinet meeting last Thursday where the Local Plan was approved and said he was bitterly disappointed with the decision of the councillors.

Afterwards, he said: “What we want to see is something creative to get the number [of Chesterton houses] down.

“We want to see it reduced to hundreds rather than thousands. We appreciate there needs to be houses but the numbers are too high.”

Mr Moylan said he wants councillors who represent the town to work with Save Our Cirencester to lobby for less housing during the consultation period.

The council agreed that the group's petition would be discussed as part of the consultation.

However, during the meeting Cllr Nicholas Parsons, vice chairman of the cabinet, said there was no evidence in the petition to show the amount of houses proposed for Chesterton should change.

But Derek Nash, a councillor for Chesterton, was adamant that it is unfair for Cirencester to take on so much of the housing.

“I genuinely believe that the district council should look to spread the homes it needs to build across the district," he said. "I genuinely believe that smaller developments in the district should take some of the brunt.”

A total of 17 areas have been earmarked for housing and business space, with details in the table opposite.

In Moreton-in-Marsh, 21 homes are planned but town councillor Rob Dutton believes the area will not cope with them.

He said developments recently built in Moreton Park and London Road had already put too much pressure on the transport and sewerage infrastructure.

"This town needs a breather," he said. "It cannot cope with the current expansion it is experiencing."

John Birch, district councillor for Kemble - where 12 new homes are planned near the rail station - said that parking was already a big problem in the town and would need to be addressed before more houses are built.

The Local Plan states that no greenbelt land will be developed and less than five per cent of the proposed housing will be in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

During the consultation period, the plan can been viewed online at cotswold.gov.uk/go/ForwardPlanning, with hard copies available at the council’s Trinity Road headquarters in Cirencester and Moreton-in-Marsh office, libraries and town and parish council offices.