Councillors set to make decision on local plan
Published: Friday, 6 November, 2015
Stroud district councillors are due to decide on housing and employment plans which will shape the district’s future for decades to come. At a council meeting to be held later this month, they will consider the final report from the Planning Inspectorate on the Stroud District Local Plan, which will allow the council to control and direct the development of the district in a planned and sustainable way.
The plan, which encourages at least 11,400 homes to be built over the 25-year period between 2006 and 2031, identifies how many homes should be built and their locations. The number includes over 7,700 homes which have already been built or have planning permission and 4,200 homes to be developed on sites identified in the plan. On average, 470 homes need to be built each year over the next 16 years to accommodate the expected needs of the district. The plan also supports the development of 58 hectares of employment land over the plan period to meet local job forecasts and identifies a range of new sites to meet business needs.
Councillor Geoff Wheeler, leader of Stroud District Council, said:
“It is reassuring that the planning inspector’s report fully supports our choices of housing and employment sites and endorses our strategy to focus development on larger towns and villages rather than via many smaller greenfield housing developments throughout the countryside. This approach will allow us to ensure that appropriate infrastructure is built to accommodate housing and employment growth. Now that the inspector has given our plan the green light it will prove invaluable in protecting against predatory development.”
If councillors adopt the plan at the council meeting on Thursday 19 November, it will come into force immediately. Stroud would then be the first district in Gloucestershire to have an up-to-date and comprehensive local plan in place.
Councillor Simon Pickering, chair of the council’s environment committee, added:
“Due to the considerable nature of the task, the local plan has taken a few years to finalise with a great deal of hard work from officers, councillors, parish councils, consultants, developers and members of the public. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the process. They should feel proud that they have made a valuable contribution, no matter how small, to shaping the future of the district.”
The locations and numbers of future housing development within the plan are as follows:
|
LOCATION |
NUMBER OF HOMES |
|
Hunts Grove Extension |
750 |
|
North East Cam |
450 |
|
Sharpness |
300 |
|
Stroud Valleys |
450 |
|
West of Stonehouse |
1,350 |
|
Council Housing Programme |
150 |
|
Dispersal / windfall |
750 |
|
Total allocations and windfall |
4,200 |
The planning inspector’s report on the local plan can be viewed at www.stroud.gov.uk/localplanreport, at Ebley Mill, local libraries and parish council offices.