Stroud District Council has a vision for new homes at Cheapside, Stroud
Creating new energy-efficient homes on brownfield land is a council priority and the latest plans are to develop two sites near Stroud railway station. It is hoped that the development would also bring about much-needed improvements to the railway station.
Working with partners the vision is to create new homes, better access to the railway station, the canal and the town centre. The development would also bring investment to improve the public spaces in and around the station area, creating a better experience for people arriving in the town.
SDC is working with partners including Network Rail, Great Western Railway, London Continental Railways, Stroud Town Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Cotswold Canals Trust and Stroud and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce.
The next stage in the decision-making process is for SDC’s Strategy and Resources Committee to consider the Output Specification (what any developer would be required to build) for land owned by Stroud District Council, on April 3rd. Subject to approval at that committee and once a developer has been selected, a consultation will be launched on their proposals, looking at how the Council’s land will be used.
To comment on the Council’s vision at this stage, please email Stroud.StationQuarter@stroud.gov.uk by March 19, 2025. Comments now closed
Below are some FAQs following the responses to the council’s press release that sought feedback to the council’s Output Specification, which sets out its vision and objectives for the redevelopment of the Cheapside area.
The Cheapside Redevelopment Area is part of the Stroud Station Quarter project. Stroud District Council, Network Rail, Great Western Railway and London and Continental Railways are working together, along with its key stakeholders, on a renewed vision and masterplan for the Station Quarter. The aim is to create an improved ‘sense of arrival’ to the town and a higher quality of public realm. People will be inspired to stay and dwell in the vicinity and pedestrians and cyclists will be encouraged with improved access and facilities. Underused buildings will be re-purposed for community use and landmark buildings will create a sense of place. Access to rail services will be easy, intuitive and inclusive of all. Strong connections will be made between the north and south of the station, improving links and accessibility between the canal, station and town centre. Land around the station will be consolidated to provide new energy efficient homes, with land receipts used to plough back into the station improvements.
The land to the south of the station in the ownership of the council and Network Rail is known as the Cheapside Redevelopment area and is shown on the plan attached. Site Plan
A workshop was held on the 11 December 2024 to establish a shared vision and objectives for the Cheapside Redevelopment Area and was attended by members and officers of the council together with representation from Network Rail, Great Western Railway, London and Continental Railways, Stroud Town Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Stroud and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce and Stroud Valleys Canal Company. The feedback was gathered into a report which was used to draft the Output Specification (OS), setting out the council’s vision and objectives for their land.
A press release was published on the 4 March with a link to the OS in order that the public could provide their feedback to the proposals. The OS was reviewed in response to the feedback and updated where required.
This document was approved by Members’ at the Strategy and Resources Committee held on the 3 April 2025.
The Output Specification has been drafted to support the procurement of a developer for the site and sets out the Council’s requirements for their land, which will be used as a baseline for the selection of a developer.
The Output Specification can be found here.
The council and its partners are clear that for the Cheapside Redevelopment to be a success and to realise the vision for the area there must be sufficient car parking for both the station and the town.
Our rail partners’ involvement in the project is to provide a better experience for its customers in Stroud and for more people to use the station. This will only happen if there is sufficient car parking to do so. This is why the council, in conjunction with London and Continental Railways (LCR) commissioned transport consultants to carry out a Car Parking Study to outline the existing demand and utilisation of the car parks within the town centre so that robust and clear data is available for any decision making for the project.
The complete Stroud Car Parking Study is attached here. This sets out the policy and guidance context, the data collection results, some recommendations and the summary and conclusions.
The results demonstrate that when Cheapside parking is removed and occupancy is reallocated to other car parks, there is generally sufficient space to accommodate the demand. Only one day experienced high utilisation that resulted in reallocation pushing parking over capacity and that was on the day of the Food and Drink festival. Whilst it may not be appropriate to have sufficient car parking to only cater for these event days, which are considered a worst case scenario, options would need to be discussed to manage the demand on these occasions such as the use of private car parks, park and ride, encouraging other modes of transport etc to prevent demand exceeding capacity. These options would need to be explored and finalised before any loss of car parking at Cheapside occurs.
The council is reviewing the recommendations contained within the report with key stakeholders and will consider how to take these forward.
There would be no loss of car parking until a viable scheme has been submitted and a developer selected. Addressing the loss of parking will be part of the planning process and conditions regarding this may be imposed. Any redevelopment would not start until planning permission has been granted.
The council is committed to opening up Brunel Mall multi storey car park to the station as part of the overall station proposals and is in discussion with Network Rail regarding the land between the car park and The Goods Shed to ensure that any journey from the car park to the station would be over land that is well lit and in a good state of repair. The opening timings and length of stays in the car park would need to be reviewed to tie in with the train timetables and to allow for overnight parking.
The wider vision for this area reached a major step forward on the 25 March when The Goods Shed was acquired from Network Rail to safeguard Stroud Valley Artspace’s future and will enable them to proceed to obtain further funding for their improvement plans.
It is recognised that accessibility of the parking to the station is key for users of the station and this cannot be resolved completely until there is step free access across the platforms since whichever side you park on you will need to reach the other side on your return journey. This is an issue for many of the stations across the network and is why the Department for Transport has an Access for All Programme to provide the capital funding for projects to deliver the step free access.
Each year this programme is oversubscribed due to the high number of stations in this position but also due to the high capital value of these projects. In 2024 Stroud station was one of three stations across the south west that were added into the programme and funding will be forthcoming if a viable option can be found. Feasibility work is currently taking place to assess the options.
There are a number of potential options open to the council for the delivery of the project each carrying different levels of risk and control.
The four main delivery options considered for this development are;
Due to the council’s wish to have some control over the outcome and to be able to deliver to its objectives in the Output Specification, but not to take all the development risk, the optimal routes to delivery for the council would be either a JV or contractual partnership arrangement.
Further explanations of each of the options can be seen in section 4 of the report to Strategy and Resources Committee attached here.
Further de risking of the site is required to include a ground investigation survey and a baseline Biodiversity Net Gain assessment which will be required for any future planning application.
Due to the complexity of the site and the desire to deliver a high quality sustainable scheme, the council is to explore with its rail partners whether public funding is available to assist with any viability gaps.
The council will review the recommendations within the Stroud Car Parking Study with key stakeholders and consider how to take these forward, which will need to be done prior to any loss of car parking.
The council has been working closely throughout with Network Rail and further meetings are set up to finalise discussions regarding a combined approach to the redevelopment of the area and if appropriate to sign a collaboration agreement between the parties.
For the project to proceed, a procurement process would need to be followed, which can take up to 9 months, followed by the preparation and submission by the developer of a planning application.
Individuals and local groups can make their views known through the planning process and in consultation / engagement prior to the application being submitted once a developer has been selected.
The council will continue to engage with its key stakeholder, local residents and businesses as the project develops.
Updates on the project will be provided on this page.
Comments and questions can also be submitted here and public questions can be submitted prior to meetings of the Strategy and Resources Committee.