AN application for 31 homes in Whitminster was the only one to receive planning permission during a six-hour meeting last month.

A total of 548 homes across the district were up for discussion at Stroud District Council’s development control committee on Thursday, December 18.

Six of the proposals that were discussed were in the Five Valleys and made up 252 of the proposed houses being discussed.

A planning application for 90 homes on the land opposite Avenue Terrace in Bristol Road, Stonehouse, was unanimously refused by councillors in line with the officer's recommendation.

A further 17 homes in Bath Road, Leonard Stanley, were also unanimously refused on the basis that the proposed development would result in overdevelopment of the site as a result of its "poor design and layout".

Cllr Dorcas Binns (Con, Minchinhampton) who put forward the motion for refusal said: “Leonard Stanley cannot sustain the amount of housing coming into it and the roads cannot sustain the amount of traffic.”

An application for another 95 homes in School Lane, Whitminster, was also unanimously refused by members on the basis that the landscape harm to the area would be "significant".

Prior to the meeting the application had received more than 60 letters of objection from local residents.

However, members were resolved to grant permission on a separate application for 31 homes opposite this site in School Lane on Parklands Farms.

An application to build 19 homes in Nupend Farm, Horsley, was deferred by the committee as a page of evidence was missing from the planning papers.

The committee also deferred an application for 196 homes in Canonbury Street, Berkley, in which proved to be one of the most controversial debates of the day. In a close decision the committee agreed the deferral It was deferred so officers could approach the developer about making some changes to the application.

An application for another 100 homes on land off Shakespeare Road in Dursley was also refused by the committee.