Where will 12,800 more homes go? Stroud District Council is hitting the road and reaching out online to get as many views as possible on how the district will look by 2040.

The council must find room for 12,800 homes by then, and is consulting on the main issues around where residents live, work and visit before it is finally adopted in 2021 as the district’s blueprint for development.

To gain maximum response, the council is running 12 public exhibitions, holding a town and parish council conference, communicating directly with key stakeholders and individuals, there is an online survey to fill in, and comments made on the council’s social media channels will be collated.

“Stroud District Council was the first in Gloucestershire to get its Local Plan signed off in 2015 but we were told we must revisit it and we have to find room for more homes,” said council leader Doina Cornell. “We must address this issue, so that we retain control of where development will be, rather than being told by government.

“It’s really important that as many people as possible have their say, via the online survey, public exhibitions, social media and more traditional methods. The proposed sites are not set in stone and alternatives can be put forward at this stage.”

Garden villages, brownfield regeneration, meeting local needs at villages, supporting town centres are all up for debate. The 12,800 target calculated by central government is driven by a high need and relatively high cost of housing – it must be reached or Stroud District Council could lose some control of the planning process and government could instead dictate where homes are built locally.

In this consultation, the council wants to know whether people think the emerging strategy addresses future development needs. At this stage, alternative approaches and development sites can be considered too.

Stage two of the Local Plan Review, The Emerging Strategy public consultation, runs until 18th January 2019 and all the details and a link to the online survey are at stroud.gov.uk/environment/planning-and-building-control/planning-strategy/stroud-district-local-plan-review

Comments can also be made at facebook.com/strouddistrictcouncil/ and @StroudDC on Twitter using the hashtag #Stroud2040.

Public Exhibition Dates:

Stroud

Subscription Rooms, George Street

Saturday, November 24, 10.30am – 1.30pm

Kingswood

Village Hall, Wickwar Road

Monday, November 26, 2.30pm – 6.30pm

Painswick

Town Hall, Victoria Square

Wednesday, November 28, 2.30pm – 6.30pm

Sharpness

Village Hall, Oldminster Lane

Saturday, December 1, 10.30am – 1.30pm

Slimbridge

Village Hall, St Johns Road

Monday, December 3, 2.30pm – 6.30pm

Nailsworth

Mortimer Room, Old Market

Wednesday, December 5, 2.30pm – 6.30pm

Cam

Parish Council Office

Saturday, December 8, 10.30am – 1.30pm

Dursley

Methodist Hall, Castle Street

Tuesday, December 11, 2.30pm – 6.30pm

Minchinhampton

Youth Hub, Tobacconist Road

Wednesday, December 12, 2.30pm – 6.00pm

Stonehouse

Town Hall, High Street

Thursday, December 13, 2.30pm – 6.30pm

Wotton

Town Hall, Market Street

Monday, December 17, 1.30pm – 5.30pm

Hardwicke

Village Hall, Green Lane

Tuesday, December 18, 2.30pm – 6.30pm

The consultation is part of reviewing the current Stroud District Local Plan – it was approved by a Government-appointed inspector in 2015 with the proviso that it reviews it soon after.

In the current Local Plan period from 2006 to 2031, the target for Stroud District Council is 11,400 homes, of which 5,120 have been built and 1,400 have been allocated. Currently 456 homes per year are being built in the Stroud District. However the new National Planning Policy Framework announced in July raises the target to 638 per annum – the nearest to this figure in Stroud District was 573 homes in 2014/15.

The first stage was an Issues and Options public consultation, which took place during autumn 2017.

The main areas proposed for development in the strategy are:

  • Cam: Consolidation of growth to the north east of the town linking the parish centre with improved facilities at Cam and Dursley railway station and completing the linear park and local cycling and walking network; new housing development, community and open space uses to the north west, improving access to Jubilee Playing Field and creating a landscaped buffer between the existing edge of Cam and the M5 motorway. Regeneration of brownfield sites is proposed for Cam, Dursley and Stonehouse.
  • Dursley: Supporting town centre improvements; housing development and open space uses to the south east; improvements to the local cycling and walking network.
  • Stonehouse: Supporting town centre improvements; extensions to planned growth to the north west of the town including enhancing community facilities and additional open space; supporting improvements to the canal corridor and local walking and cycling routes.
  • Stroud: Regenerating large scale brownfield sites for housing, employment and canal related tourism; supporting the better use of edge of town centre sites and public realm improvements; supporting improvements to the canal corridor and local walking and cycling routes.
  • Newtown/Sharpness: A new garden village community incorporating housing, employment, shopping, community and open space, with the opportunity to transform local transport facilities and access to new and enhanced facilities for existing residents and businesses.
  • Wisloe (south of Cambridge and Slimbridge): A new garden village community incorporating housing, employment, shopping, community and open space with the opportunity to improve access to local facilities for existing residents and businesses whilst protecting the setting of existing villages.
  • At Berkeley, Minchinhampton, Nailsworth, Painswick, Brimscombe, King's Stanley, Kingswood, Leonard Stanley, North Woodchester and Thrupp: Smaller development sites will be focused on meeting local housing needs and on enhancing or delivering new services and facilities which have been identified as lacking in those places.

Any queries or suggestions relating to the consultation can be directed to the Planning Strategy team on local.plan@stroud.gov.uk or 01453 754 143.

Paper copies of the Emerging Strategy are available to view at:

  • Parish and town council offices open to the public
  • Public libraries
  • Stroud District Council offices, Ebley Mill
  • The Tourist Information Centre at the Subscription Rooms, Stroud

Email responses and queries to: local.plan@stroud.gov.uk