MADAM - A healthier, more sustainable future for living in the Stroud Valleys?

Stroud District Council’s local plan has fallen at the first hurdle.

SDC is required to adopt what the inspector considers is a more robust method for forecasting housing and employment needs up to 2031.

It is likely that the housing estimate will rise.

We hope that SDC can satisfy the inspector in the next six months but meanwhile there is an opportunity to reconsider the best location for development, in line with the general strategy of the local plan.

So what can be done to make sure that the Stroud Valleys become a healthier and more sustainable place to live for this and future generations?

The answer lies in ensuring that development is largely concentrated in areas which are:

l well located for accessibility to jobs, schools and community facilities,

l of least environmental quality,

l have the capacity to accommodate large-scale mixed development based on achieving a high quality of life, and

l where land is potentially available, as much of it is in public ownership.

Is there such a location in the Stroud Valleys?

Indeed there is – it lies to the north of Stonehouse.

There is potential – recognised by SDC in their Jobs and Growth Plan 2013-2018 – for a new station where the London railway line joins the Bristol line going north to Gloucester and Cheltenham.

The combination of excellent rail connections and the proximity to the M5 corridor offers the opportunity to focus jobs as sought by the Local Enterprise Partnership.

Much of the land is owned by Gloucestershire County Council.

So there is the potential to form a public/private/community partnership to deliver a much higher quality place than the norm – and also give a good return to the public purse.

Development could link closely to Stonehouse, while being designed on ‘garden city’ (or garden neighbourhood) principles: green and beautiful, low carbon buildings, pedestrian/cycling priority, diversity of housing, excellent infrastructure.

There is a risk that the current proposals for West of Stonehouse might be seen as the answer to the current problems facing the district in bringing the local plan back on track.

That is not the answer.

The location is very poorly related to the town and would be highly car-dependent.

We need a debate now about what the land to the north of Stonehouse has to offer.

Stroud Futures remains keen to contribute to such a debate.

Stroud Futures

High Barton; Max Comfort; Ian Crawley; Nicholas Falk; Leonora Rozee