Strategic planning plays a crucial role in ensuring Gloucestershire can meet its ambitious target of delivering 43,000 new homes, while also securing the necessary infrastructure and community services to support this growth.
A joint Strategic and Local Plan (SLP) is currently in development for the districts of Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Tewkesbury. This plan aims to guide development decisions over the coming decades, balancing housing needs with sustainable growth.
The Government has increased the housing target for the area by more than 20% from previous estimates, now requiring approximately 43,000 new homes across the three districts over the next 20 years. So far, sites have been identified for about 20,000 homes, leaving a significant shortfall of around 23,000 properties that must be addressed in the SLP.
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Tewkesbury Borough will bear the majority of this new housing, as Cheltenham and Gloucester have limited available land. Councils are legally obliged to cooperate to ensure regional needs are met and development is well coordinated.
Richard Stanley (LD, Cleeve West), leader of Tewkesbury Borough Council, stresses that the SLP is vital in steering growth toward appropriate locations and aligning it with necessary infrastructure improvements such as roads, schools, and healthcare facilities.
Without a comprehensive, agreed-upon strategy, there is a risk that developers will build in unsuitable areas lacking the services and infrastructure communities require, resulting in unsustainable growth.
“The SLP helps ensure our area’s growth is managed thoughtfully and sustainably over the next 20 years by planning not just homes but the supporting infrastructure they need,” Stanley said.
Residents and businesses can review the evidence and progress of the SLP on its dedicated website. The current engagement phase will continue until June 2026, with a pre-submission to the Government planned for July. The final plan submission is expected later this year, around October or November.