Gloucestershire County Council vision document

Councillor Juliet Layton, Cabinet Member for Planning, said, “I know the housing proposals reported in the press will worry people, but I would like to reassure residents that this document has certainly not been agreed by us as the planning authority, indeed it’s the first I’ve seen of it.” 

“Housing numbers to be built in the district are set by the Government and development sites are set by the District Council as part of the Local Plan process. The figures in the County Council document are massively above what needs to be built and I’m not sure where on earth they got their figures from. 

“Our emerging Local Plan, (which covers the period 2026 to 2041), requires 3,300 new homes to be built across the entire district (on top of 5,150 homes that already have permission or are allocated in the current local plan). This is to meet the Government’s target and is far below the figures seen in the County Council document.  

“Cotswold District Council is at the early stages of developing its Local Plan and residents will be asked for their views at each stage of the consultation process. The Council’s recent Local Plan consultation, held in spring, invited comments on a proposal for development in Moreton-in Marsh, but at nothing like the scale of what is proposed in the County Council document.  

“We will be consulting on a draft Local Plan later next year, at which point residents will be able to give their view on exactly what is proposed and how we intend to manage development in the best way for communities.”