A plan to make room for over 12,000 more houses in the Stroud district has been delayed.

Higher government targets mean council officers have been looking for new spots for development, but a public consultation on an initial plan was pushed back at a meeting last week.

Obstruction came from a Conservative councillor who feared the plans - which include space for developments at Sharpness and Wisloe - would threaten the existence of the villages.

Jessica Tomblin, who represents Cam West, said: “This is the first time Wisloe has come into play in housing developments.

“If we go through with this we will have lots of small villages become one big hybrid community.”

Fellow Conservatives backed her request for more time to “carry out further work” examining the plans, delaying a vote on gathering public views until a meeting on October 11.

Stroud District Council must build 12,800 extra houses by 2040 under a new target set by the government in April - failure to do so could see the government step in.

A first stab at where to build singles out Cam, Dursley, Stroud and Stonehouse as main areas of development.

Officers are also eyeing land along the M5 corridor given flood-risk and conservation restrictions posed elsewhere.

When asked how the plans would affect the district’s population by cllr Tom Skinner, a Conservative representing Hardwicke, a council officer estimated growth of 30,000 to 40,000 people by 2040.

In light of the delay, the Green councillor who chairs the committee looking at the plans, Simon Pickering of Stroud Slade, called an extraordinary meeting for a vote on the survey next month.

After cllr Tomblin’s amendment was approved by councillors, cllr Pickering said in a comfort break in the chamber: “She has no idea of the implications of what she’s done.”

Read the initial plan here: stroud.gov.uk/media/738591/item-8-appendix-a-final-draft-preferred-strategy-ilovepdf-compressed.pdf