We’re consulting on the future of your district and we need your views
Published: Tuesday, 19 November, 2019
How do you want Stroud district to develop up to 2040?
That’s the question we are again asking everyone who lives and works in Stroud as part of more consultation on the document which shapes growth over the next 20 years.
Planners from Stroud District Council will be available to listen to your views on the Draft Local Plan at open public exhibition sessions next month, as well as being able to take responses online. Developers who are promoting major strategic sites will also be available to speak to separately at the open sessions.
A Local Plan is a blueprint for development in a district, which maps out where homes, employment and leisure uses will go. Consultation on the Draft Local Plan will last nine weeks and starts on Wednesday 20 November, ending on Wednesday 22 January.
The Draft Local Plan is a refinement of the Emerging Strategy which we consulted on last year and contains a number of key changes:
Climate change – after declaring a climate emergency last year, the council is doing everything in its power to make the whole district carbon neutral by 2030, so this is reflected strongly in the plan. It includes supporting progressive zero carbon construction and design standards, upping renewable energy provision, and prioritising sustainable transport options.
Sites – some have been removed in Dursley, Minchinhampton and Standish due to concerns of the impact on the Cotswolds AONB, some growth is proposed at sites in Frampton-on-Severn and Whitminster and new sites with employment potential are identified, including at Javelin Park, Haresfield and Renishaw’s New Mills. We have looked again at the strategy of concentrated growth versus dispersal in to villages in the light of public consultation results. But sustainability appraisal and a transport assessment has identified the clear benefits of concentrating most growth in terms of maximising the use of infrastructure and minimising the need to travel.
One of the council’s key challenges is to meet a 40% increase in the target set by Government for new house building – if the new plan is not approved Stroud District Council could lose control of where homes can be built.
In the current Local Plan period from 2006 to 2031, the target for Stroud District Council is 11,400 homes, of which 5,700 have been built and 5,700 have permission. Currently 456 homes per year are being built in Stroud District. However the new
National Planning Policy Framework announced in July 2018 raises the District target to 638 homes per annum – the nearest figure to this actually delivered in Stroud District was 573 homes in 2014/15.
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 we review it soon after.
The first stage was an Issues and Options public consultation, which took place during autumn 2017, then the Emerging Strategy was consulted on in November and December last year.
The timetable for progressing the Local Plan will require Council to approve the final Draft Plan in July 2020. After six weeks of statutory consultation in September-October 2020, the Draft Plan, supporting documents and representations received, will be submitted to the Government in November 2020. If the Plan submission is delayed, the housing requirement will increase, as the current Local Plan will be more than 5 years old.
"The Local Plan is a very important document for the whole district for generations to come,” said SDC Planning Strategy Manager Mark Russell. “I would urge everyone who has a view to get involved in this stage of the consultation."
Public Exhibition Dates:
- Monday 2 December: Brookthorpe Village Hall, 2pm to 6pm.
- Tuesday 3 December: George Room, Stroud Subscription Rooms, 2pm to 6pm.
- Wednesday 4 December: Stonehouse Pavilion, Oldends Lane, 2pm to 6pm.
- Friday 6 December: Cam Parish Hall, 2pm to 6.30pm.
- Saturday 7 December: Cam Parish Hall, 9.30am to 12.30pm.
- Tuesday 10 December: Hardwicke Village Hall, 2pm to 7pm
- Friday 13 December: Sharpness Village Hall, 2pm to 6.30pm.
- Saturday 14 December: Sharpness Village Hall, 9.30am to 12.30pm.
- Monday 16 December: Slimbridge Village Main Hall 2pm to 6.30pm.
- Tuesday 17 December: Slimbridge Village Main Hall 9.30am to 12.30pm.
An extra exhibition date in Berkeley is to be confirmed.
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 Draft Local Plan are available to view at parish and town council offices open to the public, public libraries and Stroud District Council offices, Ebley Mill, Ebley Wharf, Stroud, GL5 4UB.
- Email responses and queries to: local.plan@stroud.gov.uk
- Comments can also be made at facebook.com/strouddistrictcouncil/ and @StroudDC on Twitter using the hashtag #Stroud2040.